Because You Never Knew
by shi-chan
Summary: KakaNaru Kakashi always gave Sasuke & Sakura more attention than Naruto. That mistake has lead to a dramatic change in Naruto, and as he grows more distant, Kakashi begins to love him. But what really happened when Naruto left? What is he hiding? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Another KakaNaru piece of mine. Why? Because the net needs more of this pairing. This is going to be in a more serious tone and a slightly different approach to Naruto's coming of age than my other fic, "Why Not". I've typed about two or three chapters ahead, but I'm still making changes on them like every one hour or something. All I can say, that for this fic is - TISSUE ALERT. I'm having a hard time blinking tears away just typing it. Oh, the emotions!

crickets chirp

Anyway, on with the show!

BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 1

Naruto stared at the setting sun, sitting on top of the fourth's head, a rather old and worn out scroll in hand. It'd been a long and tiresome year. After the attack of Orochimaru, Konoha was left scarred with a decline in the number of shinobis. Many of those who survived were going through intensive healing and the hospital had never been this full before. The children were actually shaken by the whole event and even with the new Hokage, it was still painful for the village because they lost a passionate leader as well - the third. Not only did Orochimaru attack them but Itachi also paid a lovely visit to Konoha and Kakashi and Sasuke ended up in a coma for quite some time. After that, there was the issue of Sasuke's betrayal.

Naruto felt that he could no longer relax, as did Sasuke. But Naruto wasn't as lucky as Sasuke. Sasuke had a teacher, who in turn had Sasuke as his favorite student. Sasuke had someone to teach him his bloodline, Sasuke had everything that Naruto didn't. He had the famous copy-nin. Sure, Naruto had trained with one of the legendary three for quite some time but that was months ago, ever since he mastered the rasengnan. After that fateful day and him getting knocked out due to too much chakra consumption, he found himself in the hospital, the very scroll in his hand beside him. Jiraiya left to travel for some time, leaving him a note that said he'd come back someday. But it had been nearly ten months since that incident and Naruto was giving up hope.

The Chuunin exams were in two days time and Naruto did not want to enter. He just didn't think he was ready enough ever since he read the scroll he held in his hand. Sure, he knew the rasengnan. He knew several jutsus. He was good with taijutsu and okay with genjutsu. But it was not enough. He needed more training. But for the sake of his teammates, he'd go far enough for them to go on their own. He'd heard that it was going to be the same as the previous ones due to the lack of shinobis. It wouldn't be that difficult.

Naruto held the scroll in his hand up to his face. He opened it once more and began to read it again - even though he had memorized the entire thing by heart already.

_My dearest son,_

_I dare not imagine what you've been through up to this point. And me apologizing is not enough. But you must understand, that as a Hokage, the village and its people comes first above anything else. Please know, that in my heart, I have always loved you. I couldn't be there for you birthdays or Halloweens or Christmas or graduation, but I am still proud of you._ _  
Because you're reading this, that would mean that you are still alive and that you most probably know about Kyuubi. Do not treat the demon as something to be hated, but treasure it as a gift because of all the chakra you can get from him. And I know that someday you'll find a way to control it and overcome it._

_My surname was originally Uzumaki but I changed it when I became a shinobi to Kazama, which is why I am known as Kazama Kaoru. I gave you my original surname because no one knew of it. No one knows I'm your father except for your mother- Kunimitsu Hana-, Jiraiya-sensei, Sarutobi-sensei and Tsunade-san. Not even my favorite student Kakashi knows. And I want it to be kept that way, until you can see the way I saw the village. Until you can learn to forgive the villagers for mistreating you throughout your life and find it in yourself to love the village the way I did._

_As for what I leave behind, that would be the rasengnan. By the time you get this letter, you would have already mastered it. Below is a list of other types of genjutsus and ninjutsus that I created myself but my most special and prized one is the rasengnan. The ones below are just to help you out._

_Moonlight Shadow no Jutsu_

_Kiss of the Phoenix no Jutsu_

_Ice Barrier no Jutsu_

_Time warp no Jutsu_

_Mind force no Jutsu_

_Understand that these jutsus have been used on people who never lived to tell the tale about it. So use them wisely. Unless you can come up with a Jutsu to counter clan abilities of those in Konoha, then I guess you'd be free to use them whenever you want. I was working on a jutsu to protect those I have but I haven't completed them yet. I called it the copyright Jutsu - and the title serves its purpose. I've left the details on it below. If you can find a way to complete it, so much the better._

_I've left all that I have. All I can suggest to you is that you master a style of taijutsu that will benefit you or come up with your own and try to gain high-speed movement. There are some things that require a teacher and a team and some things you have to do on your own. And sometimes, speed can be your advantage in battle._

_My dear son, know that I'd give up anything to be with you now. But it just doesn't work that way. But I want you to know that I am proud of you to have reached this far. You are my son and no demon or any of those things is going to change that. I love you and I always will - and your mother too. She was so happy when she got pregnant. She loves you so much Naruto. Never forget that. Never forget us. And just to remind you that we are always here for you, keep the ring attached to this scroll. You don't have to be lonely anymore._

_Love from your father,_

_Uzumaki Kaoru_

Naruto's eyes threatened to spill the gathering tears. He had started working on his taijutsu by asking some help from Gai and Lee who were most happy to help him out. He and Lee would spar together often and although Naruto still had some flaws on his taijutsu, Lee was always there to support him and Gai to guide him. It took him nine months to master everything he needed to know about Gai's taijutsu technique and, like Lee, he opted on wearing weights around his shins, which lay hidden behind loose black pants that replaced his orange hip-hops. He and Lee were becoming the best of friends. During the war with Orochimaru, Lee had lost his parents and was orphaned so Gai resigned his position as a genin instructor and became Lee's legal guardian.

Naruto sucked in a shaky breath and a tear escaped is eye. He heard footsteps behind him, which stopped once the person or people were a good three feet away from him. "Naruto? You ditched training today to enjoy the view?" Sakura snapped. Naruto quickly wiped at his eyes and then stood on his feet, casually dusting his clothes clean.

"You've been here all this time dobe?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Yeah. Sorry." Naruto grumbled.

"Just to let you know, Naruto, that just because the Chuunin exams are coming, doesn't mean you should forget about teamwork." Kakashi pointed out and Naruto gave him a nod.

"What's that?" Sakura asked looking at the worn out scroll Naruto had in his hand. Thinking that it was some sort of historical information, Sakura grew interested. "Let me see." Naruto's eyes widened a bit and he took a step back, hiding the scroll behind his back, afraid that Sakura, Sasuke or Kakashi might see its contents. "Oh geez, Naruto! It's an old scroll! Give it here!" Sakura tried to grab it from Naruto and when she got her grasp on it, Naruto panicked.

"GET OFF!" He yelled and pushed Sakura away - hard! Sakura landed on the ground and stared at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto blinked, and took a step back.

"Naruto." Kakashi warned. "That was not necessary." Sakura got up and began to dust her clothes.

"Sheesh! Keep your crappy little scroll to yourself then! Who'd want to read a old and mangled scroll anyway?" Sakura said, angry for being shoved to the ground. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Kakashi watched as Naruto stared at the scroll in his hand and how his lips trembled. "You'll never understand." He whispered and then turned to leave. "I'm not coming to training tomorrow, Sensei. I'm not feeling well.

"Chuunin exams are near, dobe." Sasuke warned him.

"I'll be fine by then. Besides, I have two days to rest anyway. I'll show up, don't you guys worry." He turned and began to walk away. "Good night." He waved and then disappeared down the path that lead to the heart of the city.

Naruto reached his apartment and locked the doors. He took a shower and went straight to bed, scroll tucked beside him. He reached out for the black chord around his neck and pulled out the necklace Tsunade had given him and stared at the ring that he'd added as a pendant. He stared at the silver ring that his father wore as an Uzumaki heirloom. It must have been fate or something but the Uzumaki symbol was a spiral pattern. Naruto smiled and tucked the ring and chain under his shirt and went to sleep, not feeling so cold and alone anymore.

The next day, he went to the woods and did some taijutsu training and practiced some basic jutsus. After that he did several laps around Konoha and some more taijutsu. Just before sunset, he sat on the fourth's head and stared at his locket. The same thing happened the next day, until the day of the Chuunin exams arrived.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

This was already typed before and I just made some last minutes changes. The thing about Obito being Naruto's dad - WRONG! IT WAS A MISTAKE! MIS-TYPING! I made the fourth's name Kaoru since we do not know his real name yet. So YondaimeUzumaki/Kazama Kaoru.

A big thank you goes to Ravenshaelo for beta-eding this chapter! Let's all give her a big applause!

Well, now that that is sorted out, enjoy!

BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 2

Naruto entered the building and found Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him, Kakashi standing behind them reading a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"You're late." Kakashi said, closing his book.

"Sorry." Naruto mumbled.

They made their way to the exam room and Kakashi bid them good luck. There weren't many taking the Chuunin exam - not like the last time at least. But there was a generous number of people. It really was pretty much the same. Ibiki was the head examiner and they pretty much had to do the same as what they did the last time - only this time, there were nineteen questions instead of nine and the time limit was just forty-five minutes instead of one hour. Like before the last question was revealed in the last few minutes. Those who were new to the exam quit immediately. But what came as a surprise was that the papers were checked and those with blank papers, even though they agreed to take the question, were failed immediately. Naruto wasn't stupid. He had studied several books and scrolls from the school library and asked Iruka to tutor him in several things. So he managed to answer eleven questions, hence he was not disqualified.

Anko made her grand entrance and told them to come to the Forest of Death the next morning. Nothing was different from this level from the one in the previous exam, except they had only three days to get to the tower instead of five. Naruto made a suggestion to attack the closest team, use everything they had, get the scroll and get it over and done with. Surprisingly, they got lucky that the team they attacked had the other scroll and that they were rookies from the Grass village.

They were the fifth ones out of the fourteen teams to arrive at the tower. Naruto was in his own world completely. He was so busy staring at the moon that he didn't even realized Sasuke approached him.

"What's with you dobe?"

"Huh? What's what?" Naruto blinked.

"Ugh! What's wrong with you?" Sasuke snapped.

"Nothing. You want something to be wrong with me or what?" Naruto asked.

"I was just asking!" Sasuke snapped again.

Naruto stared at the ground. "No need to shout, Sasuke. I'm not deaf." He said softly.

Sasuke sighed. "Look, can you just stop being weird? If you don't, I'm telling Kakashi-sensei!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure." Naruto said, and sighed. "Go tell Kakashi-sensei if you want. I don't think he'd care anyway. He's got you to fuss about."

Sasuke blinked. Just then, an elite chuunin led them to a waiting room where they were offered food and drink and a place to sleep if they felt very tired. Naruto took the opportunity and immediately went to sleep. When he woke up, the second part of exam was over and it was time for the preliminaries. Sakura went first and fought against Tenten and she won. Then came Neji with some Mist ninja. Three matches after Neji, Sasuke went next, against a grass-nin and it was no surprise that he won the match. Two matches later, Naruto was next and he was against Kiba - Again! Kiba landed on hard punch on Naruto's jaw line that sent Naruto flying several feet back. He didn't even bother to dodge it. He got up, a bit fazed from the punch and gave Kiba a sincere smile.

"Nice punch, Kiba. It really hurt." He whispered and faced the examiner. "I give up."

"WHAT?" Sakura and Sasuke yelled in chorus.

"What on earth?" Kakashi mumbled

Naruto looked up at his teammates and teacher. He gave them a small smile before shoving his hands into his pocket. Without another word, Naruto left the arena and headed outside - ignoring all of Sakura's calls and Kakashi's orders. He didn't want to deal with any of them yet. They'd do fine in the second round because Sasuke and Sakura had improved greatly and Naruto knew that they'd be chuunins by the time the exam was over. He'd deal with Kakashi later but just not now. He went directly to the fourth's head and sat there again. His cheek hurt! A presence made itself known to him.

"Naruto."

"Ero-sennin." Naruto greeted. "You're back."

"You quit?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I felt like it."

"I see." Jiraiya sighed. "I've been here for three days. I'll be leaving again soon. Come, let's get that cheek of yours fixed and have dinner. Ramen right?"

"Your treat?"

"Sure." Jiraiya said and ruffled Naruto's hair.

XXX

Naruto had some sort of healing balm applied on his cheek and the bruise slowly began to fade. They were seated at the Ichiraku, wafts of steam rising from the bowls in front of them. Naruto stared at his bowl, every once in a while blowing the steam away to let it cool down, chopsticks poised in his right hand.

"How have you been?" He asked, not bothering to look at the sennin beside him.

"All right. I've written six books that are now on their way to stores nationwide!" Jiraiya said proudly. "I'll be going out again to stay in Earth Country and after that Lightning Country for a while. Maybe a year or two, or perhaps more. Depends though. One has got to keep their business in check right?"

"Yeah." Naruto said, smiling up at him. "You do that."

Naruto went back to eating his ramen. Jiraiya stared at the kid before him and his eyebrows knitted together.

"Naruto, you've changed."

"I've been getting that a lot." Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of noodles.

"Because you make it obvious." Jiraiya said. "It can alert people and make them concerned."

"Last time I checked, no one cared." Naruto said and took a sip of his tea. "I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of acting happy all the time. I'm tired of being called an idiot and being looked at as if I'm some sort of -" Naruto stopped and shook his head. "I - I want to be like him."

Jiraiya understood what Naruto meant perfectly. Naruto had been forced to wear a mask of happiness. The person before him was the one without the mask. He looked older than his age and his eyes reflected things that a child his age shouldn't have witnessed or have gone through - even for a shinobi. Gone was the carefree look that he usually wore. Now, he was just someone who was hurting deeply. Jiraiya found himself not able to stand such a sight. Even as a container of the Kyuubi, he did not think it was fair for anyone to go through what Naruto had gone through.

"Your father liked miso ramen too. Fell in love with Hana because of her ramen. Well, at least that's what he told me."

It caught Naruto's attention completely. The boy turned to face him, eyes wide and suddenly glowing with happiness. "Really? He liked miso ramen too?"

"Yup. With a passion. I guess your love for ramen came from him." Jiraiya said, and rubbed his chin. "And his stubbornness. And his I'm-not-giving-up attitude." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair. "You're a chibi version of your father actually. Except maybe for your hair. It may be blonde like his, but it's not as wild and stiff. And the shape of your eyes, face and nose came from your mother. Yes, definitely your mother."

Naruto was looking up at him with an awed expression. "T-tell me more?"

Jiraiya smiled. He pulled out some cash and paid for the ramen, before motioning for Naruto to follow him to the Hokage monument. They sat there, Naruto with an ice cream cone that Jiraiya had got him on the way. They sat on the fourth's head and stared out at the evening life of Konoha.

"Was he smart?" Naruto asked.

"Very! You wouldn't believe what a smart ass he was. And your mom was his match." Jiraiya said and gave out a hearty laugh. "Let me tell you what happened when your father first fell for your mom." Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "He saw her teaching at the academy when he was doing his rounds. Your mother was a pretty woman. Long auburn hair and dark eyes. Good figure of course." Naruto gave Jiraiya the look'. "She was instructing the children who had gone wild in the classroom. She somehow got fed up with the whole affair and failed to notice the Hokage by the classroom door. Hence, when she flung a book to get one of the children sitting beside the door, it hit him squarely on the face. It had been a scandal and your mother became a bit famous for being the first one to hit the Hokage. It was unintentional, but it caused a riot. Kaoru was teased mercilessly by his friends and by me of course. In concern, Hana had rushed up to him and checked if he was okay. I don't believe it was love and first sight or any of those cheesy things, but they got along after that. I think it was Hana's invitation to ramen that triggered it." Jiraiya bit his lip. "Yeah, it was definitely the ramen." Naruto was still looking at Jiraiya with an awed expression in his face. Jiraiya ruffled his hair. "It's getting late kid. Get some sleep."

Naruto suddenly lost his happy expression. "You're leaving again, right?"

Jiraiya swallowed and nodded. "Yeah."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning at nine." Jiraiya answered and noted how blue eyes stared at him with a begging look.

"C-Can I go with you?" Naruto's lips trembled. "Y-You don't have to train me if you don't want to. I - I have to master the jutsus my father left me anyway and it will take some time. I - I won't be a bother. I - I promise." Naruto dipped his head. "J- Just don't leave me here. Take me with you."

Jiraiya cursed the villagers for giving the boy a hard time. He could bet his cash that his teammates were not that nice to him either. And of course, Kakashi was most probably bowing to the Uchiha brat. Jiraiya could not find it in himself to refuse the boy. Kaoru would not have wanted that. "Just make sure you're at the gates by nine tomorrow all right? Pack the things that you need. We'll be gone for a long time. And don't be late. "

Naruto looked at him and smiled. "I won't!"

"I'll tell Tsunade that you're coming with me." Jiraiya said.

"Okay!"

"Now go get some sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Right!"

XXX

Once Naruto got home, he began to clean up the house. He emptied the fridge and took the garbage out. He placed his clothes neatly in the closet and packed the things that he needed the most. When he was done, he placed his backpack in the living room and readied the clothes he'd wear for traveling - black baggy pants, a black t-shirt and his other clean orange jacket. Satisfied, he set the alarm and went to bed. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow.

The next morning, he woke up before the alarm sounded. He took a shower, dressed, had some breakfast and then got ready to leave his apartment. Sandals on and backpack strapped on his back, Naruto gave his home one last long look. This was where he had lived all his life, where every crack on the wall was a memory of how he vented out his frustration and anger. This was where he cried himself to sleep and where he stayed safe from the angry gazes of the villagers. Naruto wasn't leaving permanently, but he would be gone for a long time.

The funny thing was, he wasn't going to miss it. What was he going to miss? Iruka, definitely. Sakura? He didn't think so - not the punches and yelling, not to mention the bitching at least. Sasuke? Maybe, but not very much. Kakashi? Maybe. Naruto pondered on it for a while. Yes, he decided. He would miss Kakashi. Even though he didn't really gave Naruto very much attention, he was still there for him - more or less.

He tore his gaze away from his house and headed for the door, only to feel a familiar presence outside. He opened the door and found Kakashi ready to knock.

"Sensei." He said, looking up at the tall masked Jounin.

"I came to tell you that there will be no training today. Sakura and Sasuke are taking the day off to rest." Kakashi took a long look at the backpack behind Naruto, and how full and heavy looking it was. "What are you up to now, Naruto?" He asked, sighing.

Naruto walked past Kakashi and locked the door. "I'm going with Ero-sennin."

"What for?" Kakashi asked, suddenly worried. "I won't be training Sasuke for some time now. I've taught him all he needs to know about the Sharingan. Sakura is training with her father. I actually came here to give you some training."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "After what?" He snapped. He suddenly winced and took a step back. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at him.

"After what?" Kakashi repeated. He was offended and definitely felt - hurt?

Naruto swallowed. "I'm sorry. I'm not entirely in a good mood. I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Forgive my rudeness."

"What do you mean, after what? I - I don't think I'm getting the full picture here."

"Just forget it all right, Sensei? Could you do that for me? Please? Just this once." He said, and checked if he locked the door right. "I have to go. I don't want to be late for Ero-sennin. I don't want to be left behind."

"Why did you quit the chuunin exams?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

Naruto remained silent for a while. Then he gave him an answer. "Because I felt like it."

"You felt like it." Kakashi repeated. "What kind of a reason is that?"

"It's good enough." Naruto said. "I have to go." Naruto turned and began to walk away, when Kakashi's hand planted itself firmly on his shoulder.

"Why are you leaving? Please tell me that at least." Kakashi said, voice husky and deep all of a sudden. Naruto jerked out of his grasp and gave him a strong hug. "N-Naruto?"

"You may have not liked me the way you did Sasuke and Sakura. But just to let you know, I will miss you." Naruto whispered and without another word, he released his hold on Kakashi and darted off down the street towards the gate, leaving a baffled and shocked Jounin. On his way to the gates, he stopped by at Iruka's bid him goodbye and promised to write. Naruto reached the gates and found Jiraiya waiting for him. Naruto took one good look at the Konoha, and turned his head away, not the least bit perturbed as the gates closed with a loud booming sound.

Today was a start of a new chapter in his life. And he was looking forward to it.

TBC

Again, mis-typing! I made a serious error about the fourth being Obito. I have changed this to Kaoru okay, people? Hope that's cleared!

Tell me what you think! Ja!


	3. Chapter 3

Hmmmm - I like this part. I am such a sappy person that I cry even in Disney Movies - now who the hell cries in Disney movies? That's like so - feh, nevermind. Anyway, I like this chapter. I have decided to make this story an AU, meaning characters that are MEANT to be dead aren't DEAD! Like thinks Haku! I need this guy to be alive, so I will make up a reason for him to live. Don't FLAME me because of this minute change because I will NOT tolerate it. I have warned you beforehand and I will warn you again in the next chapter. So, please! Bear with me. I need this guy!

Also, in my fic WHY NOT, someone pointed out to me that Naruto is a traditional Japanese-setting - albeit rudely. I was like - ouch! Hell, if I knew anything about Buddhism I WOULD NOT HAVE INTRODUCED THE IDEA OF CHRISTMAS IN THE 1ST PLACE! Anyway, that will be dealt with later. For now, I have omitted implications of Christmas (which I have originally put in the first place and I have changed it just now) and put it as New Year instead. I appreciate the fact that my wonderful readers points out my mistakes (like what one told me about nii-san meaning brother and nee-san meaning sister - thank you!) but guys, please, I'm not an expert and I'm human too. Don't be rude. I felt horrible when insults are said to me just because of a mistake okay? And come on, we all make mistakes.

Anyway, enough of that. Go on guys! Enjoy this chapter! If you're a sap like me, then have a tissue-box beside you.

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 3**

Iruka flipped through his mail excitedly until he found it. A letter amongst all the bills and staff memos. He looked at the address and shook his head. So he was now in Lightning country. He ripped the envelope open and unfolded the paper to read its contents.

_Hey Iruka-sensei!_

_I just turned eighteen one week ago. Ero-sennin got me this cake and a new jacket since the old gray one got ripped up pretty badly when he threw me off a cliff._

"OH MY GOD!" Iruka gasped and quickly clamped his hand over his mouth and met the gaze of everyone in the staff room who had their eyebrows raised at him. Iruka grinned sheepishly. "Ahaha! A complaint." He waved the letter. The staff rolled their eyes and went back to their business. Iruka grabbed his coffee mug, took a long swig and then headed for the playground of the academy. Three years ago, the Chuunin exam took place in Earth Country. Jiraiya requested teammates so that Naruto could enter the Chuunin exams. Tsunade easily sorted it out and when the two genins returned to Konoha, they had Naruto as their personal hero and idol. News spread like wildfire and this made the entire village wonder. Was the boy really that good? Iruka shook his head from his stroll-down-memory-lane and continued to read the letter.

_You most probably gaped at that. I swear, Iruka-sensei, you can be such a mother hen at times._

"Well I never!" Iruka huffed and then continued to read.

_Boy have I got stuff for you when I come back. I have completed my invention of another jutsu. I call it Phoenix wings! It's great! And oh so destructive. When I completed it, I accidentally dried out an entire lake when we stopped in the Water Country for a few nights. Ero-sennin was so totally freaked out, and he was actually impressed! Too impressed! He even got me a new pair of pajamas. By the way, this guy has got cash man! His Icha Icha Paradise series are so popular in the Earth, Water and even Lightning countries! Geez, you wouldn't believe the number of perverts there are in this world. It makes one wonder._

"Oh I bet!" Iruka grumbled.

_Well, not much going on here in the Lightning Country. They are pretty famous for their kimonos here because of the silk and cotton. Fantastic bargains. I myself need a new wardrobe (which I carry around on my back by the way) since most of my clothes are already small or short. I told you in my previous letter that I've grown tall. Well, Ero-sennin says that I'll probably gain another three or four inches before stopping. I've got a little ponytail now and Ero-sennin says that he inspires me. I don't even want to bring myself close to anything that he likes. No way! I got bruised pretty badly last time he was caught peeping in to the woman's bath._

Iruka cringed. "Oh Naruto."

_Anyway, I've learned several new genjutsus and I know I told you that before, but well, I'm telling you again anyway. I also devoted a great amount of time in learning how to use a sword. There are many books here on historical techniques and stuff. I've met some samurais here and they were more than happy to give me a few pointers. Now, after a long period of time (years I mean) I think I'm pretty good with the sword or swords (I can use doubles now). Ero-sennin said that it would come in handy and even offered to spar with me several times - heh! I beat him! Cool huh?_

_I'm in a hurry writing this letter. Still have to clean the little apartment we will be staying in. I don't know when we'll come back to Konoha. Ero-sennin still has a lot of work to do here. But please don't be sad sensei. I know you're a total sap when it comes to the end of my letters. And don't you deny it! But I will come home. Soon. I just... Don't know when. But don't you worry. I'm okay. I have one of the three sennins with me anyway. Plus, I don't think it would be very nice if I just died now right? Remember, I still want to be the Hokage! And when I come home, I'll make you proud! Just you remember that!_

_Always,_

_Naruto_

_P.S - Please send my regards to Kakashi-sensei and Baa-san._

Iruka folded the paper and stared at the afternoon sky. It was cloudless, an endless blue with flocks of birds flying across it's heavenly planes. Iruka felt happy, having heard from Naruto again. Naruto usually wrote to him every month and sometimes twice a month, other times once every two or three months. He couldn't stop worrying about the boy no matter how many times he told himself that he had Jiraiya with him. It was just a bit difficult since he was so attached to the boy.

Iruka tucked the letter into his pocket and decided to go back to the staff room. On his way, he found Kakashi talking to Asuma who was laughing. He debated on whether to pass Naruto's message on to him or do it some other time. He did not want to intrude on the conversation just to say that his student said hi. Before Iruka could make a decision, Kakashi caught him staring in his direction and gave Asuma a pat on the shoulder, excusing himself.

"Something wrong, Iruka-sensei?" He asked.

"No, nothing at all. You didn't need to cut the conversation." Iruka said, looking at Asuma who was now talking to Gai.

"No worries." Kakashi said. "I was just passing a message from the Hokage to him anyway."

Iruka wondered why Kakashi was laughing. What could be so funny about a message from the Hokage? "Anyway, I just wanted to pass Naruto's regards to you."

Kakashi suddenly stiffened and slowly turned his face to Iruka. "Naruto?"

It was actually the first time Naruto ever requested such a thing. For the past five years, going on six, he never mentioned anyone worth saying hello to other than the Hokage herself and Iruka had dutifully passed on every greeting to Tsunade. He wasn't very surprised about it and just shrugged it off. But Kakashi was most definitely surprised. Not even the mask hid that.

"Yes. He sends his greetings." Iruka repeated.

"He wrote to you?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Since when?" Kakashi asked, now baffled. His eyes were a bit narrowed and Iruka wondered what was wrong with him.

"Since he left Kakashi-sensei." Iruka said, and watched Kakashi carefully. His shoulders had slumped forward just a bit. His eyes were filled with sadness all of a sudden.

"He never sent me word. I didn't even know where he went." Kakashi said.

"He's in the Lightning Country now." Iruka said. "As for him not sending word to you, ever stop to think why? I've got one reason and knowing Naruto, that's most probably it. My guess I mean."

"Oh? What's that?"

"You never paid attention to him, Kakashi-sensei. You gave Sasuke more importance than him. Even Sakura." Kakashi's hand balled in to a fist. "I have to go. I've done my homework. Good day, Kakashi-sensei."

Iruka entered his classroom to start the sixth period. Kakashi had reacted strongly. Iruka told himself that Kakashi was just hurt or concerned for Naruto since he left like he did. But something at the back of Iruka's head told him that Kakashi was jealous of him because Naruto kept in touch with only him.

"Take out your data scroll and tell me about Chakra circulation. Briefly. Yes, Kai?" Iruka called out to a student.

XXX

Kakashi stared at the night sky, watching the stars flicker in blue-black velvet. He asked himself several times whether he had been a good teacher. After team seven's disbandment, he never took another team. Sakura was now training to be a medical profession and hoped to join the hunter-nin unit of Konoha. Sasuke wanted to be ANBU and Kakashi knew that Sasuke would make it through. But had he really been a good teacher?

He felt horrible about Naruto's departure. He had not seen the kid in five years and never heard a word from him. Then all of a sudden, he found out that there was someone in the village who was keeping contact with the blonde boy and he never knew! And what hurt the most was that it had been going on since the day Naruto left. Was he really that horrible of a teacher? Iruka seemed to thinks so, or at least that's what his comment meant if one removed the layers of politeness and decency in it. It just gave a big, plain You Suck' message.

"Was I really that bad?" Kakashi asked the stars for the tenth time that evening.

He was now an active Jounin, accomplishing missions to bring income to the village. Even after five years, they were still short on shinobi. Kakashi was offered to another team, but he declined and served Konoha's needs instead. It had been a tiresome five years for him - assassinations, infiltrations, protection duty, gate watch, academy substitutions - the list just went on. Every night was the same. He'd come home to an empty house and the next day the same mundane routine would begin again. There was no energy, no life, no spark - no Naruto! There wasn't anyone to laugh with, or to listen to silly little things, little fights, little excited chatter. Kakashi sighed.

He missed his student dearly. He could still remember that day when Naruto left and the words he'd said. The hug had been the final touch. After Naruto released him from that thirty second hug, Kakashi suddenly felt paralyzed. It was his words that struck him. Even if he didn't like him like Sasuke, he'd still miss him? Kakashi then realized that he had been neglecting Naruto all the time. It hurt his pride as a teacher and mentor, and he refused to believe it, but it was true. He always paid attention to Sasuke and occasionally Sakura. But he never gave Naruto the same amount of attention he gave them. And when he realized this fine point in the full five minutes that he remained standing like a statue outside Naruto's apartment, it was already too late. Even with his speed, he couldn't reach the gates in time to apologize to Naruto. And he never forgave himself. Was that how Naruto felt the whole time he was on the team? Yet he listened to Kakashi whenever the Jounin spoke to him - gave him his full attention.

"Oh god." Kakashi whispered and brought a hand to his face. "How could I have been so blind?"

He remembered the times when Naruto asked him to train him in his usual loud and boisterous way. Then, as time went by, his voice got softer and softer until he completely stopped asking. And this was after Jiraiya left for another long period of time. Kakashi heard of Naruto getting knocked out from training and did go and visit him in the hospital because Sasuke had been there too due to a minor hand injury. He had asked about Naruto's condition and the nurses told him that it was just fatigue and overwork. Kakashi peeked into his room, found the boy asleep and then left. He didn't bother to go check on him up close, he didn't even ask how the boy felt when he got out of the hospital. Naruto had become completely withdrawn after he woke up from that four day sleep at the hospital. And he never noticed!

Kakashi gave out another long sigh. There were times when he looked at Naruto; he would see his deceased mentor due to the blonde hair and the blue eyes. He told himself that he was just another blonde-and-blue-eyed boy from the village because his best friend never had a son. If he did, Kakashi would have known. He would have told him. He rubbed his neck and stared at the lights glowing from the city. Sitting on top of the Hokage monument gave him peace and cleared his thoughts. But for five years, it has not been working.

He couldn't sort his thoughts on Naruto out. The boy plagued his mind during day and night and even when he was asleep. He would see Naruto standing in front of him, dressed in his orange jump suit and then suddenly he would just turn and walk away, and no matter how many times Kakashi called out to him, Naruto would just keep walking away. Then Kakashi would suddenly be soaked in blood and then he'd wake up with a very painful chest. He asked himself what it meant, but he couldn't comprehend it at all.

Kakashi wrapped his arms around himself and looked at the sky once more. He made a vow to himself. When Naruto came back, the first thing he was going to do was apologize.

It was several months later that Naruto wrote to him. He sent him New Year's greetings and a pack of delicious pastries that were so famous in the Lightning Country. After that, Kakashi did not hear from him again.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Gomen nasai minna! I really had troubles with this fic. I couldn't figure out how to bring Haku in to the picture without making it sound so corny and magical. But now that I have a slight and quite firm idea of how he would come in to this story, I can safely say I am in working-mode' for this story. I'm very, very story for keeping all of you waiting.

If you have _any_ suggestions on how I can bring back Haku without making the story a complete AU, then by all means, give me some! I would be very glad to listen to ideas of other people and their imaginative thinking.

Anyway, a million thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed this story! Every time I see a new review, I rack my brains to come up with something quick so that I can finish this fic. Thank you so much all of you!

I dedicate this chapter to Dragon101. If it weren't for your review, that somehow got plastered in to my mind and kept ringing REALLY loud every time I opened my fic folder, I would have NEVER typed this chapter out - or bash my head to find a solution. This chapter goes to you!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 4**

"We're here." Jiraiya announced, looking up at the gates of Konoha. "Good to be home, ne?" Jiraiya turned to find a twenty-year old young man staring at the gates blankly, lips set in a taut line of seriousness, eyes narrowed slightly as if he were frowning. But Jiraiya knew that this was not so. Then again, he didn't know what kind of feelings Naruto was currently feeling. Anger? Annoyance? Sadness? Grief? Guilt? Happiness? It could have been anything, but Naruto merely gave him a nod and waited for him to lead the way.

Jiraiya would be lying his pants off if he said that Naruto hadn't changed. Naruto had _changed_ dramatically and he was becoming more and more concerned. Naruto was never like this until he hit the age of nineteen. Till then, he was usually his happy go lucky self, always smiling and always laughing at jokes, heck he even pulled pranks on Jiraiya faster than anyone can say ramen. But after that incident -

The gates of Konoha groaned open and a female shinobi greeted them with a bow. "The Hokage is expecting you, Jiraiya-sama." She turned to Naruto and blinked, eyes widening. Naruto turned to look at her, eyes still carefully masked of any emotion and gave her a nod in greeting. The female ninja gave a little blush before ushering them into the village. She gave them another welcome back comment and gave Naruto a shy smile. Naruto merely looked at her and acknowledged her greeting by giving her another nod.

"Let's go." Jiraiya said and they both jumped on the nearest roof and made their way to the Hokage's office.

The door was already open when they reached Tsunade's office. She was pouring some drinks in to a glass when they stepped in to the empty office. "Welcome back," she said with her back turned to them. She motioned with her hand for them to take a seat. "I am assuming your trip was an uneventful one?"

"We came fast. Didn't want any troubles." Jiraiya said.

Tsunade turned her honey colored eyes to Naruto and a light sigh of sadness and a little bit of guilt flooded her. "Hello Naruto. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, thank you. And yourself?" He answered, voice deep and at the same time soft. It was no longer the squeaky and loud voice that the entire village knew, but was instead had a rather quiet and withdrawn tone.

"I've seen better days. Hokage work is too much." Tsunade waited for Naruto to rebuke her for saying such a thing about being a Hokage but she got none. Instead, she only recieved a slight nod from Naruto as a reply.

"It is part of the job I guess." He said, blue eyes staring directly in to her honey colored ones, piercing and burning. The gaze was so intense that Tsunade had to look away.

Jiraiya gave Tsunade a look that only she understood. She gave Naruto a smile and patted his shoulder before enveloping him in a hug and placing a kiss on his cheek. "You must be very tired. Iruka knows you are coming today and he took care of your apartment while you were gone. He's probably waiting for you back at your place. Get some rest, Naruto. We'll talk tomorrow when you're well rested and refreshed, hmm?"

"All right." Naruto said, standing up and picking up his travelling bag. He hoisted it onto his shoulder and gave Jiraiya a nod. He then looked at Tsunade and his lips curved in to a very, very small smile. That little lift at the corner of his lips made all the difference in the world to Tsunade. For a fleeting moment, Naruto looked younger, like he had a good life and had no troubles. Then it was gone. "It's good to see you again, baa-san." In a puff of smoke, Naruto was gone.

Tsunade clenched her shaking hands into fists. It felt good to hear the nickname that she longed to hear in Naruto's absence from the village. "What happened Jiraiya? What happened to him?"

Jiraiya stood up and walked towards the window, glaring at the evening sky. "Akatsuki is active again."

XXX

Naruto jumped from roof to roof, making the guards on duty turn heads and look upon his moving figure. Naruto was in no hurry to get home just yet. If Iruka was indeed waiting for him, then he didn't really need to get there as fast as possible. He did not know how to react when he saw the smiling face of his former sensei or how he would answer the barrage of questions that Iruka would definitely shower him with. He did not know how he'd react to his babying. He did not know how long he would be able to keep a straight face. Naruto lived in a constant paranoia that what _he_ said would actually come true.

Before he knew it, he reached his doorstep. It was the same wooden door only it was now painted white instead of the teal green it once was. The entire building was renovated and repaired. Naruto didn't really care. He took out his key and unlocked the door, stepping into the dimly lit living room. Everything was sparkling clean and he knew Iruka must have done this. One thing about Iruka Naruto remembered very clearly was that he was a neat freak. He set his heavy travelling bag by the door and kicked his sandals off, climbing the single step and walking across the parquet floor. His eyes scanned his surroundings and took note that Iruka had been taking care of his plants too.

A smile began to pull at his lips and then he felt it. The familiar and comforting presence of his sensei standing behind him, in a rage of emotions, silent but loud. The smile quickly came off his lips and he turned to face the waiting teacher. Upon looking at the familiar face, the feather duster ponytail, the scarred nose, and the glistening eyes with tears threatening to spill, Naruto couldn't help but feel fear creep up in him. The paranoia he lived in everyday came at him full blast and it took all his might to try to look composed because he was starting to panic in his head. Warning bells of leave now' were sounding loudly in the hollows of his mind.

"Naruto." Iruka spoke, stepping up towards the frozen young man. "Welcome home." Naruto trembled. He wanted this. He wanted to feel the caring presence of his teacher but he couldn't. Everything around him was starting to twist and swirl into black and then he saw him with his bleeding red eyes and shadow-covered face. "Naruto?"

One day, you will have to make a decision. To sacrifice your loved ones or to give yourself up to me. And that time, Naruto, is not very far off. Just you wait and see. You will hate living and you will hate dreaming. And you will remember what I said and you will just run. Run like a coward and put shame to your father's grave.

And carry the guilt of not protecting those you care for the most.

Naruto looked up to answer Iruka, and almost immediately, he felt a longing so deep to just reach out and hug his former teacher or maybe even jump on his back like he used to years ago. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, images of his past memory flashing before his closed lids - Iruka patting his back when he choked on his ramen, Iruka ruffling his hair, Iruka carrying him on his back when he fell asleep after training, Iruka whacking him on the head during classes before he became a genin, Iruka brining him a birthday cake, Iruka handing him New Year's parcels and treats and more. His chest began to ache with the feeling that he had suppressed ever since he -

Iruka's worried voice cut through his reminiscing like a hot knife. "Naruto? Are you all right?" Naruto did not move from his spot. Since he left, he had missed Iruka the most. Iruka was the only person who gave him his undivided attention and care and devoted all his free time to him, even if it meant helping him train. Iruka was always there for him. Iruka cared for him. And it frightened Naruto to no end that if anything should happen, Iruka would be the first to become his enemy's target. Iruka would be the first to die.

"S-Sorry." He mumbled, then he lifted his chin up and looked at Iruka, eyes filled with longing to feel the brotherly air around him once more. For the first time in a long time, he felt sadness consume him so deeply. Just the thought of losing his teacher made him feel like falling in to an unending black pit of paranoia.

"Oh Naruto." Iruka sighed and approached him in three long strides, wrapping his arms around Naruto and pulling him in for a hug. "Don't be sorry. I don't think less of you or anything!" A slight chuckle escaped Iruka's throat. "I'm just so happy to see you again!"

Naruto bit his lower lip. And then suddenly it was all too much for him to bear. For years, he dared not cry in front of anyone for reasons in which his loneliness played a big part. Ever since he left, he lived a life like that of an S-ranked criminal, until once, just once, those who chased him finally reached him, only to mark his mind so deeply with an ever blooming fear that grew and grew over the years.

For the fist time ever, Naruto shut his eyes tightly and bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, all in hope of not having his tears escape his closed lids and to keep the sobs that was now wracking his whole frame from flowing out of his lips.

XXX

Jiraiya turned to look at Tsunade seriously. "_He_ told him something. And I do not know what it is. Like I mentioned in my letters, Naruto was taken for exactly six hours and he was returned physically unharmed." Tsunade frowned. "But he was different since then. I have tried in more ways than one to know what happened in those six hours Itachi had his filthy hands on Naruto, but -"

Tsunade cursed under he breath. "He wouldn't tell you."

"No." Jiraiya turned to look at the Hokage mountain carvings once more. "But, his performance has improved drastically. If you ask me, he is the best person to go after Itachi. He stands a higher chance of killing the man than the other Uchiha."

"Seriously?" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya. "Alone?"

"Alone, yes. But I would rather he had someone else with him. He would make a fine hunter." Jiraiya turned to look at her. "He should be one."

"He can be one _if_ he wants to be one." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "I will offer him the position."

"He will accept it." Jiraiya said.

"What makes you so sure?" Tsunade frowned.

"Because, that is what he's been training for ever since Itachi took him." Jiraiya merely smiled before turning around and looking at the horizon once more.

XXX

Naruto had surprised Iruka by breaking down completely before him. Naruto knew that Iruka had not been expecting him and had been extremely surprised. But he felt a comfort so strong that he had not felt in years. Now, as he lay there on his bed, watching the they sky from his window while Iruka prepared to leave for his classes that morning, he couldn't help but feel truly at home for the first time in a long time. He had berated himself for doubting the feeling of comfort that he'd get once he returned to Konoha, and now, he felt warm all over.

He heard the sound of someone knocking on his front door and it being opened. Then came a very flustered Iruka saying, "Ah! Godaime! I was not expecting you!"

Naruto felt a smile tug at his lips as he heard Iruka struggle to face the Hokage in his disheveled state. He was shirtless and had his hair down.

"No worries, Iruka. I just need to speak with Naruto." Tsunade said. Naruto closed his eyes as heard the door to his bedroom open. "I want you to serve Konoha as a hunter." She said, once she had closed the door behind her.

_Direct, as usual._ Naruto sat up from his bed, the covers falling to reveal his shirtless form. He turned his blue eyes at Tsunade and looked at her for a moment. "Jiraiya told you."

"He did." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Tsunade's words. "He also told me that you wouldn't tell him what happened." The look intensified. "Are you going to tell me?"

Naruto turned his head away to look at the window. "No."

"Just as I thought." Tsunade said, feeling a bit hurt, but she pushed it aside. "Do you accept the offer?"

"You know I will." Naruto answered, pushing the covers aside, and standing up.

Tsunade nodded and turned, reaching for the door knob. "Before you start, I just have one more question." Naruto flicked his eyes towards her. "How far are you willing to go for the village's safety?"

Naruto did not hesitate to answer. "I'd die for Konoha."

Tsunade nodded and turned the doorknob taking a step outside. "Come to my office tonight. You will get your first mission, and I will also brief you of how things are meant to be, now that you've accepted such a responsibility."

"I'll be there."

Then Tsunade was gone, and Naruto was filled with determination that he did not feel in a long time.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Part five is OUT! A big thanks to b4k4girl for beta-reading this for me!

Ah, now that WHY NOT is almost done, I can finally focus on this. This is going to be a rather long and draggy one because I intend to focus on the idea of HOW Naruto's life as a Hunter is going to be. Plus, with him and his … teammates … which you will find out soon, it's going to be rather interesting because I myself can't wait to type it out. Well, that sounded very conceited of me, but I really liked the idea of … nevermind! I don't want to spoil it for you.

Also, I've made an ART for this story, which is now undergoing coloring in Adobe Photoshop. You can view the rough work in my deviantart accound by accessing my profile page.

A big, big thank you to PHEOX and DRAGONSOUL! I've noted the ideas you've given me and will put BOTH of them in to use! Arigatou! How I am going to entwine two TOTALLY different idea is going to be a surprise! So, this chapter is for the both of you!

ENJOY!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 5**

Naruto showered and changed into fresh clothes and spent the rest of the day at home, fixing up hips things in to his closet and storing away old things he didn't need. Iruka had classes that day and had invited him for dinner at his place, which Naruto gladly accepted. If there was anyone in the whole village who Naruto trusted whole-heartedly, it was Iruka. Not that he didn't trust Jiraiya or Tsunade, but there was just something about Iruka that made him feel that he didn't have to hide anymore. He could cry, scream and destroy his own house, but Iruka would just hold him and smooth his hair, telling him it was okay to cry and that a man who showed his tears was braver than those who didn't.

Naruto waited till it was about seven in the evening, before dressing up and heading for Tsunade's office. It took him a whole minute flat to get there, and he found it quiet as a grave; save for a few ANBU guards he spotted quickly. He could feel their gazes burning into his back, but paid them no attention as he walked down the wooden-floored halls towards Tsunade's office.

He knocked on the door twice until he heard Tsunade give him a come in' reply. When he entered, he found her alone, talking to Shizune, the little pet pig sitting on the floor, wrinkling her nose. Naruto noticed that the said pig had grown bigger and he could feel its beady eyes looking at him. He glared at it, a sneer forming on his lips, eyes darkening, and the little pig gave out a frightened squee and hid behind Shizune.

"Ah! Naruto! Come, come! Have a seat." Tsunade said, cheerfully.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama, Shizune-san." He replied bluntly but did not sit down.

"Ah, Naruto-kun! You've grown. It was as if it was only yesterday and you were but thirteen years old." Shizune patted his shoulder and smiled at him. Naruto looked at her blankly but nodded in response so as not to offend her. "Well, I'll leave you two now. Good night, Naruto-kun, Tsunade-sama." She picked up her little pig and left the room in a poof of chakra smoke.

Tsunade turned to look at Naruto who looked back. "Aren't you going to sit?"

"No thank you. I'll stand." Naruto said.

"This will take a while." Tsunade warned.

"Doesn't matter."

"Fine. As you like." Tsunade sighed and then looked at Naruto seriously. "Being a hunter means a lot of things. I'm sure Jiraiya already told you what they are since you're so into the idea of being one. But it also means your identity must be kept secret."

"I am aware of that." Naruto answered. "Jiraiya also told me that I will have to take up an odd job in the mornings so as not to be suspicious."

"Exactly. And I'm giving you the job of being my personal secretary." Naruto frowned at what Tsunade said. "At first, I considered you becoming a teacher in the academy, just like Iruka, but then, you know how the villagers are. They wouldn't want their children to be -"

"Exposed to the demon." Naruto said, face blunt and emotionless.

"Naruto, it's not that -"

"When do you want me to start?" Naruto asked, quickly changing the topic.

Tsunade felt hurt at this, but hid it well. "Tomorrow. You'll be assisting me in the mission room. You should be here by eight in the morning." Tsunade said. Naruto nodded. "There's another thing as well. You are aware that Hunters travel in trios right?"

"Yes."

"Well, for now, you will be doing missions alone." Tsunade said. Naruto's eyes glazed with sadness and this did not go unnoticed by Tsunade. "The reason you will be alone for now is because we are still waiting for the arrival of your partner."

Naruto looked up at her, eyes surprised and wide. "Partner? Not in threes?"

"No, not in threes." Tsunade shook her head, a smile on her lips. "The reason I'm assigning you in duos is because you two will be undertaking hunts for two villages." If possible, Naruto was more confused. "You are aware that we are have close ties with the Sand right?"

"Yes." Naruto said, frowning.

"Well, they now have a new Kazekage. She just became it a few months ago." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Does the name Temari ring a bell?"

"Yes. She's Gaara's sister." Naruto said. "I don't understand."

"Well, Gaara is going to be working with us in a week. As a transfer shinobi." Naruto said nothing, since he did not know whether to feel annoyed or pleasantly surprised. "Gaara is going to be my partner?"

"Yes." Tsunade frowned. "Does it bother you?"

"No. I'm just surprised that such a thing is possible."

"We're in a close alliance with Sand, so such things are possible. Plus, Temari the Kazekage comes to me for advice in running the village."

"I see." Naruto nodded. "Fine with me. I have no problems."

"I will be assigning you missions that deal with criminals from the bingo-book once Gaara gets here. He'll be here in three days. For now, you can start with the measly ones. Here's your mission for tomorrow." Tsunade tossed Naruto a scroll, which he tucked away in his pocket. "Oh and here's your hunter mask and uniform. Unlike the ANBU units, hunters don't have a specific mark. Oh and your codename will be _Aka-tsume._ Congratulations! You now have two lives!"

Naruto accepted the package and gave Tsunade a respectful bow. "Thank you for your time. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Hokage-sama."

Naruto turned to leave and as he did so, Tsunade felt sadness wash over her. "Naruto, wait!" Naruto stopped and turned to look at her but was surprised when he found himself enveloped in a tight hug. His eyes widened but he didn't stop Tsunade. "Naruto, be careful from now on."

When she let go, Naruto gave her a long look before a small hint of a smile graced his lips and then he was gone.

XXX

Naruto knew that being the Hokage's secretary and filing mission reports was going to be boring. However, he did _not_ expect his first day to be rather interesting in a twisted sort of way.

He was busy writing down notes and stacking folders when the first few jounins entered to submit their mission reports. "Thank you for your report. Here's your new mission assigned by the Hokage."

Naruto looked up when the person did not take the mission scroll from his hand. He came face to face with a familiar face that he did not know whether to hate or love or miss. Kakashi stared blankly at him, mouth agape under his mask and hands suddenly trembling. Behind him were equally surprised other jounins like Sasuke, Shikamaru and Lee.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee cried out and gave him an energetic hug and head-noggin' all the while, Naruto winced since his now short hair was being ruffled. "Good to see you! You're finally back! Wait till Gai-sensei hears this! How have you been? When did you arrive? How come you never came over? I must insist you come join me for lunch! It's been a long time! Naruto, my good friend, how have you been?"

"I've been all right. I came last night. I didn't come over because it has been a tiring trip. Lunch would be great. I've been fine." Naruto answered and offered Lee a small smile. Lee was not fazed by Naruto's change, because somehow, he expected it.

"Ah, reunions are so troublesome. Good to see you, Naruto." Shikamaru said, giving him a lazy grin.

"Same goes here, Shikamaru." Naruto said, giving him a polite nod. Naruto flicked his gaze to Sasuke and Kakashi. For a moment, seeing the two of them standing side by side, Naruto felt bitter hatred grow in him. He remembered how Kakashi paid Sasuke more attention and never even so much as glanced in his direction. Sasuke actually stepped back, seeing the dark look cross Naruto's features, whereas Kakashi merely stared in utter bewilderment. Naruto masked his raging emotions and told himself that this was his former teacher and former teammate and he should be polite. "Uchiha-san, Hatake-san, pleasant to see you again."

Lee frowned at the formality but said nothing. Shikamaru studied Naruto's face then flicked his eyes to Kakashi and Sasuke and quickly came up with the same conclusion Iruka had.

"N-Naruto!" Sasuke finally blurted out, before his lips curved to smirk. "Finally decided to come home, huh?"

Naruto gritted his teeth and forced a smile, only it came out as a sneer. "Yes. Surprising isn't it?" The sneer carried so much malice that Sasuke's smirk was completely wiped off his face. Naruto turned his eyes to Kakashi, and sat back on his chair, taking the folders from Shikamaru, Sasuke and Lee and stamping them before checking a list and handing them their assigned scrolls. "So, Hatake-san. How have _you_ been? Pleasant, I assume?"

Lee frowned even more at the hidden meaning under Naruto's words and tone, and gave him a disapproving look. No matter how angry Naruto was at Kakashi, he was still an older person and deserved some respect. But Lee knew what went on between team seven and their teacher. He spent years listening to Gai blurt out his worry over his rival and friend whenever the name Naruto came up in any conversation. Lee also knew and saw that Kakashi was feeling guilty for how he treated Naruto.

But Naruto didn't know that.

"You could say that." Kakashi answered. Lee took his cue and ushered Shikamaru and Sasuke out of the mission room leaving Kakashi and Naruto alone.

"Lunch is on me! Don't forget at two! I'll come by okay?" Lee called out from the door.

Naruto gave Lee a small smile and nodded. "Sure! I'd be honored." Once the mission room door slid shut, leaving Naruto and Kakashi alone, Naruto turned his stormy sky blue eyes at Kakashi and the small smile on his lips turned into a sneer. "Here's your new mission, Hatake-_san_."

Kakashi took the scroll without complaint. "Naruto, we need to talk."

"About what?" Naruto asked, sorting out the folders and making random checks and numbers on them. When Kakashi gave no reply, Naruto looked up at him blankly.

"What happened to you? Why are you like this?" Kakashi asked, not liking the serious Naruto before him. "Where's the cheerful and happy Naruto of before?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Hatake-san."

Kakashi slammed his fists on the table, rattling the contents of it. Naruto was unfazed by it. "Don't call me that!" Kakashi snapped.

Naruto stood up and glared at him. "You're no longer my teacher Hatake-san." He then smirked. "I don't think you ever were in the first place." Kakashi stepped back, feeling desperate and suffocated, and swallowed the lump growing in his throat. "Hokage-sama wants you to undertake that mission as soon as possible. She said you may have three companions of your choice to go with you."

"I'm sorry." Kakashi whispered.

"She also left you a message, saying that your last mission's report is still overdue." Naruto added, stamping a folder and adding it to the mucked-up pile beside him.

"Are you listening to me?" Kakashi demanded.

"No, I'm not!" Naruto snapped back. "I have a lot of work to do, Hatake-san. If there is something you want to say, it can wait till later!"

"I've waited for years." Kakashi said. "I've waited for years to apologize." Naruto said nothing. "Do I mean nothing to you?"

Naruto froze in his movements for a few seconds then looked up at him. "Did I _ever_ mean anything to you?" Kakashi only looked at him sadly and guiltily as he watched Naruto's eyes storm even more. In it, he saw the sadness and years of loneliness that he knew was there, but never really paid it any attention. "Did I?" Naruto asked again.

For the first time in decades, Kakashi felt like slumping on the ground and crying his guilt out.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

This is late, but it's longer than the previous chapter. Also, everything from here is kinda' sappy, so bear with me a bit ne? Don't worry, Itachi's part will be coming, so patience, patience. I want to focus on Naruto for a while so, ummm, there you go! An update!

Thank you to b4k4girl for beta-reading this chapter! Mwah!

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 6**

Kakashi could literally hear his heart shatter and pain fill him. Naruto continued to stare at him with a blank expression but sad and angry eyes. Minutes ticked away, and they just stared at each other. Kakashi just couldn't make his tongue move to form words, nor could any air escape his throat for the normal breathing function.

Naruto gave him a smirk before turning away from and resuming his work. "Just as I thought."

"It's not like that!" Kakashi reasoned. "Naruto, listen to me!" He said sternly, giving Naruto his most authoritative tone.

"And do what, hmm?" Naruto asked, not bothering to look up at Kakashi. "Can't you see I have work to do Hatake-san? If Hokage-sama -"

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked incredulously. "Since when did you start referring to her with such formality?"

"-finds me slouching about, listening to you while getting no work done -"

"You always called her baba or baa-san!" Kakashi hissed.

"-I will lose my job. And I do not-"

"Stop it!" Kakashi finally snapped, violently pushing aside the folders in front of Naruto and holding his face inbetween his hands. "Stop! Just stop! Don't speak! Don't say a word!" Kakashi dipped his head when Naruto suddenly stiffened. "Please."

"Hatake-san."

"Stop calling me that!" Kakashi snapped again, and stared deeply in to his eyes. Just then, Tsunade entered the mission room and found Kakashi in the very position he was - cupping Naruto's face. Tsunade blinked at the sight but said nothing and took her seat. Kakashi dropped his hands and turned to look at Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, may Naruto have the day off? I understand that he just arrived yesterday. If you may allow me to spend some time with my student -"

"Of course. Go on Naruto." Tsunade said, waving her hand and motioning him to get going.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Kakashi gave Tsunade a polite bow, before taking hold of Naruto's sleeve and tugging him along.

Naruto obediently followed, but just before the door finally slid shut, he threw Tsunade his most heated glare that made her shiver.

XXX

They stood at the bridge where team seven used to gather when they were still together. Naruto was staring at the flowing water, angry and annoyed at the same time. Kakashi was standing opposite him, face sad and guilty.

"I clearly remember what you said before you left." Kakashi said.

"Really?" Naruto said, turning to face him, expression impassive.

"You never even told me where you were." Kakashi added.

"Didn't I now?"

"I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"I should have been more -"

"Should _have_ been."

Kakashi turned to face him, eyes filled with anger. "Why are you treating me like this? Like I hated you? Like I never cared? Like I'm worthless? Like I'm a - a monster?" He demanded. "Why?"

Naruto looked up at him, eyes growing sad. He then gave him a small smile that made Kakashi forget that he was angry. It was like the old Naruto, albeit matured. It was like a veil was lifted and his true personality was finally visible. Naruto's smiled was a sad one, but it was a smile nonetheless. He leaned against the railing of the bridge and continued to look at Kakashi.

"Ah, now you know how it feels to be me." Naruto said, turning his back to Kakashi and staring at the waters. His hand came up to his blue chuunin shirt and his fingers caressed the ring attached to the necklace Tsunade had given him years ago. "How does it feel?"

Naruto's eyes widened.

Kakashi had his arms around him, face leaning against the back of Naruto's neck. "You don't know how much I've regretted not saying anything before you left."

Naruto felt his eyes harden, but something inside him was shattering. He felt warmth surround him, like ice being chipped away by fire. He was by no means a virgin. Being with Jiraiya tended to have its side effects! He was experienced with the arts of sex, but this warmth was something he had never felt before. Like he was protected. His eyes slowly drooped closed but he snapped them open again and gently pried Kakashi's hands off him, before walking down the path towards his apartment. He needed to think.

"Naruto?"

"Leave me." He said, walking down.

"No." Kakashi appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "I let you slip through my fingers before, I'm not doing it again." He touched his forehead to Naruto's, and closed his eyes. "Just tell me you forgive me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and pushed him away. "Why don't you put yourself in my shoes and then try to forgive your teacher for treating you in such a way? Think you can? I'm sorry, but it's not that easy, Hatake-san."

"Don't call me that!"

"I'm not close enough to you to call you on a first name basis." He snapped back.

"Then let me be." Kakashi whispered. "I do care Naruto."

"Do you?" Naruto asked sarcastically, eyes hardening so much it sent volts of shiver down Kakashi's spine. "Do you care? It sounds more like guilt to me."

"I am guilty!" Kakashi said, pulling his mask down. "What more can I do? Years I've waited for you to come back! Years I've tried to know where you were. Years, Naruto!"

"Six years? Maybe seven?" Naruto asked, shrugging. "I'm sorry. I can't see how that levels up to -" Naruto stopped.

"To what?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

"Nothing." Naruto whispered and turned away. Kakashi's face was imprinted in his mind, forever haunting him. It always was. He cared for Kakashi more than he'd ever admit to himself. Which is why when he was away, he tried to hate him, to chance his care to hate. "It's complicated."

"What is?" Kakashi asked, sounding resigned. He faced Naruto. "You don't hate me." He said, searching sky blue eyes. "You're _trying_ to hate me."

One thing Naruto really did hate about Kakashi was that he read him like an open book. Only in the previous years, he just chose to ignore him. But when Kakashi really looked deeply, he could figure him out easily.

"Don't make this harder than it already is. Just leave me alone, Hatake-san." Naruto said in a begging tone. "Both of us will just end up getting hurt."

"I don't hate you." Kakashi said. "I thought about a lot of things. I paid Sasuke more attention than you because he was the remaining heir to the Uchihas. I too have the Sharingan, and I was the only one who could teach him its ways." Naruto said nothing to that. "But I didn't hate you. I - I was just occupied."

"And I'm just moving on. I have my own life now. I don't dwell in the past." Naruto whispered.

"Itachi is after Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes widened, fear filling his dilated pupils as his limbs trembled. All at once scenes flashed before his eyes.

A hand gripping yellow strands of hair, lips close to his ear, sneering teeth, angry eyes, hands moving down to his neck, fingers gripping his stomach area tightly, blood trickling, words haunting him.

Angry red eyes.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and peered at him with worry. Naruto shivered a bit and turned away. "I'm going home."

"Naruto?"

"What?" Naruto snapped.

"Do you understand what I just said?" Kakashi asked. He knew he pushing it, but that fearful look that crossed Naruto, like death was choking him and laughing at him, was something he had never before seen on Naruto's face. "Itachi is after Sasuke. They will come for him."

Naruto knew it was a lie and said nothing. He knew full well that Kakashi saw his vulnerability. He knew that Kakashi saw his weakness. "He's not after Sasuke." Naruto said, a cold gust of wind blowing against him. Like an omen. "He was never after Sasuke."

Kakashi leaned his head back, a slightly feeling of triumph coming over him. "He's after you."

Naruto turned to look at him. "You'd do well to keep away from me, Hatake-san. You're a wise man, you know what's good for you."

"Are you threatening me?" Kakashi asked, amused and slightly pissed at the idea.

"No." Naruto said, and for the first time, Kakashi saw something else glisten in Naruto's eyes. Something that he saw in Asuma's eyes when he spoke of Kurenai or when he looked at her. And it was directed towards him. "I just want you to stay alive." As he turned to walk away, Kakashi caught his wrist. Eternity would have passed and they'd still be in that position. "I want you to live." Finally, he pulled his wrist free and began walking home.

"I already am." Kakashi whispered and stared at the sky above him. "I already am, Naruto."

TBC

This is CORNY! Ugh!


	7. Chapter 7

Ah! This chapter took some time. Sorry Minna. I'm not very good with fight scenes or describing missions and stuff. Gomen kudasai!

A big thank you to b4k4-girl for beta-reading this fic. She's so totally rocks man!

Enjoy minna! And I'm sorry for this chapter being late. Really, I am. For some reason, did now want to log me in. Don't know why. So part of the blame goes to them too!

**BEACAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 7**

Naruto did not head back to his apartment, but towards the Hokage's office. Just as he was about to take a turn down the hall, Lee came face to face with him, approaching from the opposite side.

"Are? Naruto! I can't believe you forgot our lunch date!" Lee cried out, fisting his hand and looking at him with a sad and fiery expression. For as long as Naruto could remember, Lee was the only person who could carry off the sad and fiery expression at the same time. He remembered practicing it in front of the mirror when he was stuck in the inn in the Water Country for a few days. That was before he was taken away.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry. Uh - I just went for a walk."

Lee gave him a look, knowing that he was lying and was covering up for something. "Oh well. Glad I found you. Come on! I'm starving! Teaching kids physical exercises has made me hungry."

"What are we having anyway?" Naruto asked, and raised an eyebrow when Lee gave him a wide grin.

XXX

"Oh." Naruto said, eyes wide as he stared at the generous spread on the table "You're paying right? I don't mean to sound thrifty, but I haven't got my pay yet. And this is quite -" Naruto couldn't even think of a word to describe the spread before him. He had so many to choose from. There were stir fried noodles, honey-roasted chicken wings, fried rice with vegetables, dumplings, steamed buns, crab soup, grilled salmon, barbequed beef, deep fried shrimp and fries. "Plenty."

"Is it?" Lee asked, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile on his lips. "Well, Gai-sensei heard of your arrival and he insisted that I order these. See? He even gave me a list." Lee produced a yellow, palm-sized piece of lined paper with a list written by Gai himself.

Naruto merely smiled. "Looks like Gai-sensei hasn't changed."

"Which reminds me!" Lee said, snapping his fingers. "Gai-sensei apologizes that he can't join us now. He said he'll drop by you once his mission is done."

"Mission?" Naruto asked, picking up his chopsticks and helping himself to some rice on his plate. "That's all right. It's very nice of him to give me a rather... colorful welcome."

"Ah! I insist you try the crab soup! It's really nice!"

As the meal progressed, Lee told Naruto endless stories of his students in the academy. Lee had become a Jounin but worked as an Academy physical ed instructor. It was a rather bland job, but he enjoyed training the children in the taijutsu that seemed to be lacking in majority of the youngsters. So far, all had been going well for the past four years for Lee. According to him, being a jounin was pretty much like being a chuunin. Only you had more command, more responsibilities and got the high-ranked missions.

"Of course, skill is useful too, you know!" Lee said, picking up a dumpling and biting it.

Naruto lifted his glass of fruit juice and took a sip. "How is everyone, Lee?" He set the glass down and took some more rice.

"Everyone?" Lee blinked then a sad look glazed his face. "It's been difficult Naruto. Everyone is having a difficult time. You know that organization, Akatsuki?" Naruto felt his blood freeze and he accidentally dropped the chopsticks he was holding.

"Yeah. I've heard of them."

Lee sighed. "Well, they've been rather troublesome. Neji and Sasuke are ANBU second-in-commands, while Shikamaru, Kiba and Shino are part of another team. They've been assigned to missions involving troubles caused by that organization and it's been really bad. They return barely even seeing what's in front of them. On more than one occasion, Neji returned in a coma, while Sasuke was barely breathing."

"Are they still functioning as ANBU?" Naruto asked, curiosity piqued.

"Yes. Even after all that happened, none of them quit. They keep trying to bring the organization down, along with its affiliates." Lee said. "I've encountered one of their members, two years ago." Lee looked at his plate, a sad look gracing his face. "If it weren't for Kakashi-san coming in time with Gai-sensei, I would have been done for."

Naruto stared at his food. "I see."

"But other than that, I guess everyone is fine. Hinata is working as a medic-nin in the hospital along with Ino. Sakura and Chouji are teaching in the academy while Tenten has a team of genins assigned under her charge. Everyone pretty much drifted apart. They all have their own lives now." He then grinned. "Sakura and Shino are engaged to get married. Shino is going resign his position as an ANBU member within this year, or so I heard. They're getting married next spring."

Naruto felt a smile tug at his lips. "That's really nice. I'm happy for them."

"Yup! It's the gossip of the month. Oh well, year, actually." Lee shrugged. Naruto gave him a smile, feeling happy in seeing his old friend and taijutsu-practice-partner. Lee had grown his hair and now sported a ponytail and longer bangs. Gone was the ultra-bowl hair cut and his face had matured quite nicely, giving him high proud cheekbones and almond shaped eyes. Even the thick eyebrows didn't look as horrible. Lee actually looked sweet.

"It's been a while, huh?" Naruto said.

Lee's eyes softened and he lifted his glass, staring at the orange liquid. "Yeah." Naruto began to poke his food around his plate. "Everyone missed you, you know." Naruto didn't reply. "Especially Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi-san." Naruto stiffened. "Sasuke went moody for quite sometime and every time your name popped up, he'd go mad. Sakura cried for as long as I could remember. Kakashi-san was - well - I don't know. He sounded and looked rather lost and depressed. At least that's what Gai-sensei told me."

"It was for the best." Naruto said, his hand reaching for the ring around his necklace from under the fabric of his shirt. "I - There were things I needed to find out for myself."

"Did you find them?" Lee asked, looking up to look him in the eye.

Naruto continued fingering the ring from under his shirt. He then clasped it tightly. He wanted to understand what his father saw in Konoha. That was the reason right? Naruto's eyes darkened with emotion. Lee watched him silently. Naruto thought about why he left. No, it wasn't because of his father. It was not because of training either.

"Did you find what you're looking for?" Lee asked again.

Naruto removed his grip from the ring. "I don't know." He said sadly, looking up at Lee. "I don't even know what I'm looking for." Lee merely looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Funny isn't it? I'm looking for something that I don't even know."

Lee shook his head. "No. It's not funny at all Naruto." He gave him a wide smile. "Maybe what you're looking for is just waiting for you around the corner, ne?"

Naruto was about to ask Lee what he meant by that but Lee called the waitress for dessert.

XXX

Short swords strapped in place, Naruto did another double check to make sure he had all his gear. He had reread the mission scroll several times. According to it, there was a group of wanted nins residing by the mountains right after the border of the Fire Country. It wasn't a far journey and with chakra-induced speed, he'd get there in about twenty minutes flat or maybe even ten if no trouble occurred. He checked his short swords, kunais and shurikens along with the other essential tools he needed before lifting the feline-like porcelain mask to his face and securing.

Then he was soaring across the roofs of Konoha under the pale crescent moonlight, until the village got smaller and smaller. Within the mission scroll that he had already memorized was an enclosed map. He scouted the area and found no traps or any form of genjutsu. He located the camp almost immediately and he found it quiet and peaceful, the sound of light, sleeping breaths reaching his ears. He took out three shurikens and placed all three in a triangular position around the camp. He knelt before one and did several quick seals with his hands.

A chakra glowing light formed the triangle, its corners being the three shurikens he positioned around the camp. The glowing blue chakra light then turned into black shadows streaked with silver that soon became blades. "_Moonlight shadow no jutsu._" Naruto whispered and the blades slashed through his targets. Just as he was about to disengage the jutsu, he heard a loud yelp, then a gasp. Flesh being torn echoed in the night, but there was something different. Something that did not sound like flesh being ripped. He turned his head to the source of the sound and found a child, maybe nine or ten, staring as the camp turned into a bloody mess. Naruto's eyes widened.

He did not know there were children. He was not told that and before he could do anything, one of the shadowed blades came for the numb child and blood rained. Naruto felt the warm trickles covering his face and hair, blue eyes wide with shock. The jutsu faded and the night was silent. He stood up shakily, mask in his hand and made his way to one of the tents, the beige and gray fabric stained red from the blood. He shakily reached for the tent's fabric and pulled it away from the bodies.

Eyes of a woman holding two children stared back at him, black and wide, unseeing and pained. Beside the woman was man staring blankly at the sky, blood trickling down his mouth. Naruto felt his heart quicken as he moved to another tent and found another family and then another and then another. Shocked and trembling, his mind switched off as his subconscious took over, doing the routine of a hunter - analyze, kill, get rid of evidence. An hour before the sun rose, the area was clean and the bodies taken care of. He headed for home, the smell of blood thick in his nose and the taste strong on his tongue.

Once inside the safety of his apartment, his subconscious switched off and he realized the horror of what he's just done. True, most of the men in camp were wanted nins with the death-signal on for all hunters, but they were family men. They had children.

"My first kill." Naruto said, staring at his shaking gloved hands. He covered his face with it, staining his pale cheeks with the crimson liquid. He began to shiver with cold, his lips trembling and eyes stinging. "And I'm covered with a dead child's blood!" He sobbed and gave out a loud cry as he rocked himself back and forth, the horror of his work finally sinking in and he fully understood that being a shinobi also meant being a murderer.

TBC

Ouch. That is Nasty!


	8. Chapter 8

Hmmm … this chapter is weird. But I kinda' like it. I tried to be as real as possible, but well, try being the key word.

A big hug and thanks to b4k4-girl for beta-reading this! She makes everything readable. Mwah!

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 8**

Naruto woke up with his neck feeling numb. He found himself leaning against the hallway wall, clad in his hunter suit, mask beside him, still coated in dried and crusty blood, his cheeks stained with tear tracks and dirt from using an earth based jutsu to re-grow plants over the once bloody camp.

Naruto winced and sat up, stripping off his clothes quickly and tossing them into his washing machine. His hands were shaking again, and the tears were now falling once more. He filled the washing machine with water and poured the entire box of detergent powder into the spinning mass of clothes and stood there, watching the water turn red, naked as the day he was born.

His stomach began to act up and he rushed for the bathroom and began to vomit the contents of his stomach. He was at it for at least twenty minutes until he had nothing to heave out but stomach acid. His faced was flushed red and he reeked of dirt and blood. He turned the hot shower on and climbed into the tub, and knelt under the hot spray. The water that dripped off him turned pink and he felt sick once again. He gagged and coughed out nothing but saliva. With shaking fingers, he reached out for the bar of soap and began to scrub at his body furiously along with his scalp and face. The water was burning him but he couldn't care less. He didn't want to smell the child's blood on him.

"Get off me!" He hissed, scrubbing. "Get off me! Get off me!" He shrieked desperately until he couldn't take it. He trembled and cried again. He refused to accept that a young child died in his hands and not just one, but more than a dozen.

He reached for the tap blindly and turned the cold shower on. And remained kneeling under the spray, cowering from the world. He didn't know how long he remained like that, but he knew that he was late for work. And pretty soon, Tsunade would worry about the mission and his state and most probably send Jiraiya to check up on him, or maybe even come down herself.

He reached up for the tap and turned the hot water on and cold tap off. His skin that was tinged blue from the cold then began to glow pink from the heat. Naruto subconsciously heard his front door open and close, and footsteps come down his hallway.

"Naruto?" His subconscious whispered the name Iruka. The bathroom door swung open and the shower curtain was pushed aside roughly. "Oh god!" Iruka gasped and reached for the tap, shutting it off. "Naruto! Oi, Naruto!" He yelled, standing up and grabbing towels from the closet and tossing it around Naruto's trembling frame. With hidden strength, Iruka managed to lift Naruto out of the tub and carried him to the bedroom.

Naruto stared up at him, his vision swimming. Iruka's concerned face was looming over him. "Cold." He whispered and then his eyes drifted shut.

XXX

Iruka began to panic. Naruto was trembling from the cold, yet his body was burning hot. "You fool!" He hissed, and tossed a robe over his body, tying the belt in a simple double knot before pulling the yellow blanket over him. "Which idiot would give himself a fever other than you is a mystery."

Once he had Naruto covered and tucked into bed, he rushed back to the academy to excuse himself from his duties. He had come by Naruto's place before classes started to drop off some breakfast he made. He did not expect to find bloodstains on the hallway wall and him in the bathtub hiding from the world. Once at the academy, he found someone to do substitute for him and then darted off to find Tsunade.

He reached Tsunade's office and thankfully found it empty from other people. "Hokage-sama!" he gasped out, panting.

"Iruka-sensei?" Tsunade looked up blinking at the sight of a half wet and panting respectable teacher.

"N-Naruto is s-sick!" He managed to choke out.

"What?" Tsunade asked, standing up. "W-What happened? Is he hurt in anyway? Wounds or cuts?"

"No, he's just sick. His burning up badly. But I can tell that anyone with that temperature is - is -Hokage-sama! He - He's - I - I -" Iruka didn't know what to say. He was desperate. "Help him, please!" He begged.

"Come with me." She said and strode out the door. She instructed her office guards to find Jiraiya and tell him to come to Naruto's apartment. When they both reached Naruto's apartment, Naruto was breathing was rapid and he was soaked in sweat. Tsunade touched his forehead and gave out a loud curse. "How did you find him?"

"He was in the shower, and the hot tap was on." Iruka answered, looking at Naruto with worry. Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped wide open and he bucked. He twisted and fell of the bed. "Naruto!" Iruka gasped, and knelt before him, but Naruto was already running for the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, he knelt before the toilet seat and began to vomit his liquids out. Iruka pushed his hair back from his face and rubbed his back as Naruto gagged violently.

Tsunade couldn't comprehend why Naruto was suddenly so sick. His stomach was already empty and he was still vomiting. For now, there was nothing she could do to help Naruto. He needed to get rid of whatever nausea he had first before she could try any chakra healing. But then there was nothing to heal physically. Him vomiting was, from her point of view, something that was related mentally. If there was any physical assault, the Kyuubi's chakra always took care of it in a few hours or sometimes even minutes. Naruto gagged violently once more and continued to heave out liquids from his mouth. Iruka was silent but had a very worried expression on his face. It was then that Tsunade saw the bloody stains on the hallway wall and then she began to get a few ideas on why Naruto was the way he was.

Several minutes later, Naruto was relying on Iruka's hold on him, otherwise his head would have fallen into the toilet. He was shaking and breathing heavily. Minutes passed and there was no more gagging. Iruka helped him up and guided him to the bed, just as Jiraiya entered the front door. Tsunade motioned for him to be quiet as she mixed some medicine into a glass of water and helped Naruto drink it by lifting up his head. Soon, Naruto was deep asleep, but still breathing heavily from his fever.

Iruka began to clear up while Tsunade headed for the living room to speak with Jiraiya. "Is he sick?" Jiraiya asked.

"Nothing caused by any outside factor, except perhaps the extremely long shower." Tsunade said. "It's more mental than physical." She added, and found Naruto's gear soaking in soapy water in his washing machine in the laundry room.

"It must have been the mission then." Jiraiya said, a thoughtful look on his face. "He must have seen something that he can't accept."

Tsunade then understood. "Must have been the targets. It was a light mission." She then threw Jiraiya a dirty look. "You did tell him that hunters are literally brutal assassins didn't you?"

"Of course I did!" Jiraiya hissed. Tsunade frowned. "He knew it was. But there are things that just don't sink in until you've finally done it or seen it." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at Tsunade. "You were not expecting this weren't you?"

"No. I wasn't." Tsunade said and approached Naruto's room. She did a few seals and held her hand above his chest, the light glow of chakra surrounding Naruto. Tsunade closed her eyes and focused on healing the young man until minutes later, Naruto was lying peacefully asleep, fever gone. Iruka was watching with awe as Tsunade healed Naruto. "Leave him for a while, Iruka. I suggest you get some rest yourself." Tsunade knew that Iruka was running around the house clearing up everything. "I will stay with him for now. Come back tonight to keep him company."

As much as Iruka didn't want to leave Naruto, he couldn't defy the words of the Hokage. "Yes, Hokage-sama." With a light dip of his head as a bow, he left Naruto's apartment.

XXX

Two or maybe three hours later, Naruto woke up to the setting sun, the orange glow making his room look like a hearth was glowing somewhere in the room. He was not feeling cold, but warm and clean. His throat was itchy and his stomach was hurting. An explosion of red flashed before his eyelids and he quickly shut his eyes turning his head away.

"What did you see?"

Naruto sat up, placing his hands on his face. "I didn't know, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded. "Of course. It was your first mission." Tsunade was in the kitchen preparing some tea. Jiraiya saw how pale and sickly looking Naruto was. "What did you see?"

Naruto stared at his blanket-covered legs. "Blood. It was a simple mission. To kill off notorious bandits wanted by the village. But -"

Jiraiya watched Naruto's lower lip tremble. Naruto stared at his open palms, imagining it was dripping with red liquid. "But what?" Jiraiya asked.

"But they had children." Naruto whispered. "I - I killed young ones. Maybe eight or seven year olds. They don't even know what hit them."

"What jutsu?" Jiraiya asked.

"Moonlight shadow." Naruto whispered and brought his hands to his face. "I killed children. And women. They were family!"

Jiraiya cast his glance on the ground. He had warned Naruto and also opposed his choice in becoming a Hunter, simply because he feared something like this would happen. Naruto was way too kind to accept such things, but it was his decision and anyone who knew Naruto knew that his mind could not be changed once he had set his sights on something. No amount of convincing or warning that Jiraiya made changed Naruto's mind.

"It's the job of a Hunter." Jiraiya said. "You chose this, you deal with it." Tears leaked out of Naruto's eyes. "There are no words or actions that I can do that may bring you comfort. They are dead. That was your assignment. This is the life of a shinobi."

"What would my father have said?" Naruto asked. "Seeing his son like this? Killing a whole group mercilessly with a mass-destructive jutsu that he developed? He'd be disgusted."

"He would have understood." Jiraiya snapped. "Don't make assumptions, Naruto, because everyone, all Hokages, from the first up till fifth, are killers too. Being a ninja means being a killer. Your father knew that, and for the safety and security of the village, he stained his own hands with blood. You are not the only one to go through such a thing."

"It's always for the village isn't it?" Naruto asked, gritting his teeth.

"It's always for the village." Jiraiya said, and placed a hand over Naruto's clenched fists. "But your father saw something in this village worth protecting."

"What?" Naruto asked bitterly. "What did he see, because I swear I don't see it!"

Jiraiya stood up and headed for the door. "He saw your mother carrying you in her womb."

TBC

Okay, before anyone even says anything about Naruto being a total baby, well, that's the whole point. And, to quote my beta-reader (mwah! Glomps b4k4-girl), here is what she said.

I like the fact that Jiraiya wasn't trying to be particularly sympathetic. Shows that he acknowledges that Naruto has made his Hunter's bed, now he's gotta lie in it.

And THAT is the whole point. After all, he did warn him didn't he? Makes us squeeling fangirl's want to cuddle poor Naruto-kun! Wah!

Toodles!


	9. Chapter 9

Here's 9. Seriously, this IS a KakaNaru fic. I intended for this fic to be fluffy and just romance, but got lost somewhere in the middle. I decided to make a entire life thingy for Naruto both work and love-affair tackled. There will be some hardcore scenes, involving those two and in the end it will be them.

Heck, I'm even pondering the idea of this becoming a deathfic. Too much happiness is just so unreal. But I'm still debating on that idea.

Face it, Naruto is NEVER going to have a easy I-live-in-a-dream-house-with-my-hunk-lover-and-cute-pet sorta' thing. He's going to suffer.

Anyway, big thanks to b4k4-girl for beta-reading this. So much patience with a weirdo like me!

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 9**

Naruto remained on his bed, staring at the ceiling blankly. Tsunade had left him some medicine to help with his nausea and long ago left with Jiraiya to attend to her duties. His apartment was dull and quiet, the skies now a calm evening gray, slowly turning into blue velvet. He had his arms spread in the bed, his body free from any form of clothing, the cool evening air pouring from his window making the curtains dance, caressing his tanned skin.

"Family huh?" He whispered, narrowing his eyes a bit and sitting up, bringing a hand to his face. "I'm not like you, father. Unlike you, I am hated and despised. Me having a family, let alone a lover, would be an absolute godsend." He stared at the necklace hanging around his neck, the symbol of a Hokage, and his father's one-ring and heirloom. "I can't be you." He shut his eyes. "I can never be you."

He stood up and pulled a plain white robe from his closet and threw it over his body, heading for the living room and flopping down on the couch. He threw an arm over his head, lips parting slightly. He felt like crying, he felt like tearing his hair out, he felt like running away. But it was a coward's way out, and bringing shame to his father's grave was the last thing he wanted.

"What do I really want?" He asked himself.

Sitting alone in the middle of his repainted living room, he couldn't answer his own question. The same question that had nagged him for as long as he could remember. A tired sigh escaped his parted lips when he felt a presence approaching his door. It was familiar and it was also someone he's been trying to keep distance from. As if on queue, a knock sounded from his front door. Tiredly, he stood up and tightened the robe around his frame, and approached his front door. A mass of silver hair and a masked faced greeted him.

"Hatake-san." He said quietly, staring into his eyes with no emotion, as usual.

Kakashi's jaw clenched at the name. "Naruto." He answered in greeting. "The Hokage requests your presence."

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't know. Best you go and find out yourself, don't you think?" Kakashi said, voice sounding a bit sarcastic.

"She couldn't find someone else to send for me?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes. He knew she should keep his mouth shut, but his day has not really turned out to be a nice one and getting a summon from Miss-Hokage was _not_ his cup of tea, especially at a time like this and in the state he was in. "It had to be you?" _I shouldn't have said that._

"Can't stand the sight of me, huh?" Kakashi asked, hurt glazing his dark eye. He turned his back and began to walk down the hall. "The Hokage is waiting for you. Best if you hurry."

Naruto felt guilt well up in him. He may dislike Kakashi, but bashing him because of his bad day was not nice either. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Kakashi stopped walking. "It's been a bad day."

Kakashi remained standing still, his back to Naruto. "Are you all right? You look a bit pale."

"I'll be fine." Naruto said. "I'm sorry."

This time Kakashi did turn. He stared at Naruto for the longest time before smiling at him. The he began to walk away.

Naruto shut the door and got dressed, before making his way to the Hokage's office.

XXX

"You seem to have regained some of your color." Tsunade commented, while Naruto stared at her with cold and annoyed eyes. Tsunade had to swallow the lump in her throat. She was so used to the bright and dancing blue eyes that the sight of the ones in front of her was just too intimidating. "Feeling better?"

"I'm fine." Naruto answered flatly. "This couldn't wait till tomorrow?"

"No, actually, it couldn't." Tsunade said, standing up. "Send him in." She called towards her door.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow and waited. He felt no one approach the door other than the two usual ANBU guards doing their watch duty. But there was someone there, like a faint beat of chakra that he somehow knew and understood. It was almost like his.

The door opened, and a black-clad shinobi, with a white scarf around his neck, walked in. Naruto immediately recognized the mass of wine-red hair and sea-green eyes. "You're here early." He said, not showing his surprise. Tsunade did say one week later, so he feeling puzzled that Gaara showed several days earlier than the designated day. "I thought you said one week."

"Well." Tsunade shrugged, smiling at Gaara. "I trust all your papers are already sorted? Shizune did brief you of Konoha's rules didn't she?"

"Yes, she did." Gaara said in his deep baritone voice. "Thank you." He dipped his head a bit in respect.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Well, this was a very different Gaara from when they were youngsters. He seemed more tame and less of a savage killer. "Welcome then." He said rather flatly, but he gave Gaara a small smile, which Gaara returned. Tsunade's mind was doing a dance of whooping joy to see the two getting along quite well. Somehow, deep down, she knew they would.

"I've arranged for Gaara to live with you. You do have spare rooms don't you?" Tsunade asked in which Naruto nodded in reply. "Good. Gaara will be an exchange shinobi and will be receiving a job of mission distribution handling, much like yours. Like you, he is a registered chuunin, but, we all know that is just a cover up. I will send your mission to you tomorrow morning. Details will be enclosed within the scroll. Gaara, I trust you already know what to do."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." He answered.

"Any questions Naruto?" Tsunade turned to Naruto.

"No." Naruto said.

"Good. Dismissed."

XXX

Naruto guided Gaara to his home, both of them traveling via the rooftops of the Konoha buildings. Gaara was quiet in their journey back and didn't speak until Naruto showed him his room.

"Well, this is your room. Mine is right next to you. Bathroom is over there. Do whatever you want with this room. I have a feeling we're going to be together for quite some time." Naruto said, as Gaara set his bag down.

"You live alone?" Gaara asked, unzipping the bag and taking out a plain, sand colored shirt and loose gray cotton pants.

"You expected someone to want to live with me?" Naruto answered, turning around as Gaara changed. Even though they were both male, Naruto respected othes' privacy and he didn't want to make Gaara feel awkward.

"I would have thought that by now you'd have someone." Gaara said.

"What gave you that idea?" Naruto asked, leading Gaara to the living room. He took out cans of soda from the small fridge in his kitchen and tossed Gaara one.

"Everyone can so easily love you." Gaara said, pulling the ring of the can open and taking a long sip. Somehow, Naruto did not expect Gaara's words. "You're just warm, I guess."

Naruto smirked. "Sometimes I wish it was so. You know how it is. Having something inside you and everyone being scared."

"That never stopped you before." Gaara said. "You're different now."

Naruto threw him a blank look. "Oh? It's called growing up."

"Peachy." Gaara began to swirl the contents of his can by tilting it from side to side in his hand.

"I don't see your gourd anywhere." Naruto said, when it suddenly began to get too quiet for comfort.

"Too big and noticeable." Gaara said.

"Don't you need your sand?" Naruto asked.

"I do." Gaara said. "But I don't carry a bulky thing anymore." He said. "My sand is in the bedroom."

Naruto didn't press the matter further. "You hungry?" Gaara didn't answer, but he did turn to look at him with his black lined eyes. "I'm not much of a cook, but we can grab some takeout."

"Take out is fine."

TBC

Okay, I know that Gaara is VERY OC in this chapter, but there IS a reason for that. The reason for his behavior being like this will be revealed bit by bit in future chapters.

Also, I'm kinda' running dry for ideas on HOW this cold-Naruto can make with Kakashi. But I'm really working on it, and I think I've nailed a few things down. So patience coz' I'm squeezing my head dry on this one.

This is probably the most difficult fic I've ever written.


	10. Chapter 10

Beta-read version by V-chan! Yay! All is fixed now! Weeeee!

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 10**

Naruto woke up the next day to find Gaara exiting the bathroom, fresh and showered. He was a pale boy, with a dark maroon towel wrapped around his waist, body lithe and firm. There was a faint trace of sandalwood as Gaara mumbled a morning greeting to him and walked past him to get to his room. The young man never slept, that was understood. But he did look well rested and not as if he was suffering from a hernia or anything. That was how Naruto remembered him when they were young. Maybe then, the power of Shukaku had been too much for him to handle.

"Maybe he's improved greatly." Naruto whispered to himself as he rinsed his hair free from shampoo. A few minutes later, he was out of the shower and dressed in the traditional blue chuunin uniform. There was no trace of the old Naruto when he wore his uniform. In fact, he looked so different that the only thing that would remind people that he was Naruto was his cheek marks and blonde hair.

When Naruto came to the kitchen, Gaara was sitting on one of the stools, looking at his cup of hot milk.

"I didn't know you drank milk." Naruto said. It was just not the drink that came to mind when he thought of Gaara. Gaara was more of a coffee or sake person. But milk? Milk was for someone like Iruka. Or maybe even someone like Kiba or Shikamaru. But Gaara? "You don't seem like the milk person."

"It's good for you." Gaara answered, stirring the hot milk in his cup.

"You sure you don't want to have something with that?" Naruto asked.

"No." Gaara answered. Naruto mixed himself some coffee and began to stir the contents of the cup. Only then did he notice that Gaara's chuunin uniform was not navy blue like his, but actually black. The flak jacket was present but he noticed that he couldn't find the gourd Gaara used to carry on his back. Naruto didn't ask any further questions. He didn't want Gaara to feel like he was being nosy.

A few minutes later, they headed for the mission room to do their morning jobs.

XXX

All shinobis were informed of Gaara's arrival, along with his purpose in the village, which is why for the next few days, none of them said _anything_ or treated him differently. Naruto later found out that they were under _strict_ rules under the Hokage to treat Gaara as if he were a comrade. Some went all out in being perky and pleasant (some even gave him welcome presents, mostly from the female body) while others said nothing. But Naruto saw the fearful looks they threw at the young man when he wasn't looking, and how some, like Sasuke and Sakura, threw him looks of pure hatred. Naruto knew that Gaara knew, and yet he showed no reaction. Naruto never brought up the topic nor did he press the matter of why Sasuke and Sakura hated his guts.

Apparently, they were mad at him too.

Naruto had clearly avoided _all_ forms of gathering or engagement that did _not_ involve anyone else other than Iruka, Lee, Tsunade or Jiraiya and sometimes Shizune. Several weeks had past and he _never_ went to properly greet Sakura or Sasuke, his former teammates. He was once slapped by Sakura across the face because he was being serious about his work. Sakura had cried then and Shino had apologized on her behalf for the way she acted, but his tone was tight and slightly forced, with a hint of understanding behind it. Sasuke had nearly thrown the mission table out of the window when he couldn't take it anymore. And the fact that they later on found out that Gaara was living with him when on several occasions they asked him and Naruto never answered only fueled their anger even more.

"They're being childish." Gaara said, walking home after another day's work in the office. "They can't handle the fact that you're back and distant."

"It's too risky to get close to them again." Naruto mumbled in reply, as they turned and began to climb the steps to the apartment.

Once inside the confines of the apartment, both retired to their rooms to change. They received their mission days ago, but it was not to be carried out till the coming weekend. So until then, they had free time to kill. Naruto came out in a pair of black pants and a plain green shirt. He was about to check what they could have for dinner when a familiar chakra came to his senses. There was a knock on the door. Gaara went to answer it and Naruto knew that trouble was going to sprout.

"What?" Gaara asked, staring at the pair at the door.

"Where's Naruto?"

Naruto sighed. It was Sasuke's voice. He knew that this would happen sooner or later. No matter how he ran away or tried to avoid getting into a situation like the one happening now, he knew he had to face them.

Gaara was about to retort, knowing full well that Naruto did _not_ want to talk to either of them yet, but was stopped when Naruto patted his shoulder. Gaara took his queue to leave the three by the door and headed for the kitchen where he began to boil some water.

"What can I do for the both of you?" Naruto asked, looking at the two of them.

"We need to talk." Sakura said quietly. Naruto was about to complain. "I'm not leaving until we do! Please! What's an hour or even just twenty minutes of your time?"

"I have to make dinner." Naruto said stiffly, clinging on to his last hope of escape, but he knew that it was a futile try.

"Whatever. Come on." Sasuke said, giving the interior of his house a foul look before turning to go down the hallway. "I'm waiting, dobe!"

Naruto remembered the childish nickname that was born of childish rivalry. He briefly wondered if Sasuke still felt that rivalry. His long ago died when his greatest fear was born. He couldn't care less if the whole village thought him useless and pathetic. He had something he wanted to do before it was too late. It just needed a bit of time and planning.

"Fine. Wait here a second." Naruto said and turned to grab a jacket from his room. "I'll be going out for a while." He told Gaara. "Should I bring some take out?"

"No. Don't bother. I'm not hungry." Gaara said, mixing some milk powder and sugar into a cup.

Naruto gave an affirmative nod and left the apartment with his two teammates. Just a few days living with Gaara told him that Gaara liked to _say_ that he was not hungry, but he actually ate in the middle of the night.

He'd still bring something home.

XXX

They were in a quiet bar. Sasuke had ordered some pickled radish and light sake for the three of them. Naruto simply ordered himself a glass of juice. He didn't hold his alcohol well and had never liked the taste of sake. He remembered once during his long trip away from Konoha, he had gotten completely smashed and ended up executing a deadly jutsu on Jiraiya out of blind fun due to the alcohol. Luckily, Jiraiya was able to put him to sleep with a sharp neck jab. Otherwise, Jiraiya would have seriously been injured.

Naruto stared at his drink, Sakura and Sasuke sitting opposite him. Sasuke had already downed a cup of sake, most probably to loosen a few tight nerves. Sakura was just looking at him as if he was her long lost love. Naruto smirked at that thought. Sakura _hated_ his guts and to have her looking at him this way, Naruto simply wanted to pick up the plate of pickled radish in front of him and chuck it on her head.

He _hated _them both.

Silence reigned for a few more minutes. Naruto was getting a bit tired of it all and ordered another juice. "Are you going to talk, or are we going to sit here and watch each other breathe?" He asked, eyes narrowing so dangerously that even Sasuke straightened a bit. Sakura was about to open her mouth but Naruto spoke first. "Just to let you know Uchiha-san, that the table that you nearly threw out the window a few days ago earned me the longest lecture from Hokage-sama. And as for you Haruno-san, if you're here to apologize for the slap, save your breath. I _don't_ want to _hear_ it."

Sakura glared. "I am not going to apologize for that! You deserved it!"

Naruto downed his glass of juice. "Perfect. Now that we've settled what we gathered here for, let's call it a night."

Sasuke fist came into contact with Naruto's jaw. There was a loud sickening crack. Naruto saw the punch coming, but figured that just to let Sasuke shut up, he'd take the punch openly. It was starting to hurt like hell. A few of his teeth might have come loose from the impact. He would have to check and see later.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, surprised and holding him back.

"Shut up! He deserved that." Sasuke snapped. "Come on!" He grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him out of the bar and towards the outskirts of the city. Sakura had to quickly pay the bill before following the two young men. Sasuke had dragged Naruto towards the place where they used to train as youngsters while Naruto allowed himself to be pulled along. Naruto landed against the bark of a tree rather painfully, the sound of his back creaking as bone joints shifted reaching his ears. "You son of a bitch!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto said nothing. He dusted himself off and got to his feet, cracking his neck from side to side and rubbing his sore jaw. It was already bruising a bright purple with a blue tinge to it. Sakura arrived just as Naruto was standing up and she gave a little gasp when Sasuke started speaking.

"Seven years, you idiot! Seven fucking years and not a word from you! You go away, without even telling anyone! Now you're back, out of the blue, working and treating us as if we didn't even know you? What are you trying to prove? Huh? Tell me!" Sasuke demanded. Naruto narrowed his eyes coldly and stared at Sasuke, hands by his side. "You didn't even speak to us! Not a greeting or anything! That was the least, the very least, you could have done!"

"He's right Naruto. A simple hello, I'm back, would have been all right." Sakura said softly.

"Sorry." Naruto said. "But I'll keep that in mind so next time I go away I'll remember to say hello when I get back." Sasuke punched him in the stomach this time.

"Sasuke-kun! Stop it!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped and picked Naruto up. "Do you even care? About us? About what we've done together?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "About me?"

"Let go of my shirt before I hit you." Naruto said.

"Yeah?" Sasuke asked, glaring and pinning Naruto to the tree. "Did you even improve at all? You spent so much time running away from your problems here that you probably forgot what being a shinobi is all about." Naruto narrowed his eyes at what Sasuke said, a boiling anger growing in him.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura said in warning, seeing the dark glint growing in Naruto's eyes.

"Let go of my shirt before I hit you." Naruto said again.

"Spent so much time chickening out that you could only reach chuunin level. What of being Hokage? Forgot about that? Like you forgot about us? You're a coward after all. You will never know what it means and what it takes to be a shinobi."

"Sasuke-kun, that's enough." Sakura said, voice hardening to make Sasuke stop. Sasuke let go of Naruto's shirt and took a step back. "Naruto, please." She pushed Sasuke away and stood in front of him, taking his hand. "Can't we start anew? What of the old times? When we did missions together? When we were still a team? Does it mean anything to you?" Sakura asked, eyes brimming with tears. She felt hurt at Naruto attitude. She missed his pranks, loudness and sunshine smile. Now he was just someone totally different.

Naruto took his hand away gently. "Haruno-san, Uchiha-san." He said, and straightened his clothes. "I will say this only once." He looked at them both directly. "The life I left here seven years ago is now nothing but a memory. I have a new life now and I see you two not as my teammates but as professionals in the field. You, Uchiha-san being the well-known ANBU member and you Haruno-san for being the well respected teacher. Nothing more. I've moved on and I expect that you two have also."

"So that's it then?" Sakura asked, tears trailing down her cheeks. "We mean nothing to you now? Just plain colleagues that pass by you in the halls everyday?" Sasuke was already gritting his teeth.

Naruto was silent for a moment, but his expression betrayed nothing. "Yes."

"Bastard." Sasuke said. "You're a bastard." Sasuke lead away a crying Sakura, not turning to look back at Naruto.

Naruto watched them walk down the path back to town. He didn't bother calling out to them or apologizing like he would normally do. He let them go. He let them judge him by what he just said. He would have a negative image from that night forward, but he couldn't care less.

In the end, if anyone died, it would be less painful right?

TBC

This is not the beta-read version. Will replace ASAP.

Toodles.


	11. Chapter 11

Beta-read and ready! Thank you to V-chan for doing this!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 11**

****

****

Days began to fly by and Naruto was getting less sleep. He was starting to get used to his missions and whatever injury he may gain in the field now took time to heal due to his body suffering from fatigue. He was frequently getting nauseous and was slightly pale looking. Gaara had forced him to take multi vitamins and stress tablets that he asked Shizune for, but they weren't giving pleasing enough results.

Naruto set the last folder in the box beside him and began to pinch the bridge of his nose. He was very tired. He'd been coming home after every mission vomiting his guts out. It was almost like a ritual now. He firmly believed that humans, criminal geniuses or not, were still humans in the end. They still had some form of good in them. It could be anything ranging from feeding the pet cat or goldfish they may have at home to nurturing a growing plant. Not everyone was pure evil. Maybe even Orochimaru had some good in him. Then again, Orochimaru was technically no longer considered human due his ability to use other bodies as vessels to live in. He was already dead anyway, killed by none other than Sasuke himself. Naruto was quite surprised when he heard of it a year before his return to Konoha from Jiraiya.

He gave out a tired sigh, the office hours now over. So far, he and Gaara had accomplished roughly about six minor missions and about eight difficult and hardcore ones. Naruto had respect for Gaara, who could stand all forms of stress and just not get tired. He envied him in that way. Whereas for himself, Naruto felt pity. Jiraiya was right. He chose to be what he was at the moment. He was going to have to deal with it.

"You all right?" Gaara asked.

"Just a headache. Clear up will you? I'm going to use the bathroom." Gaara gave him a nod as he padded out of the room towards the men's lavatory. He went about his business and washed his hands, tapping his cheeks with cool water. His vision was getting a bit blurred and he really wanted to sleep. It would have been all right if he slept for a while but even his dreams were plagued by the killing he'd done and by angry red eyes. Naruto closed his eyes for a while and grabbed the edge of the marble sink to prevent himself from falling. He sucked in a shaky breath and headed back to the mission room.

"Late again." Gaara said, and Naruto instantly knew whom he was talking to.

"Sorry. A bird ate the last one I made."

Naruto felt a smile tug at his lips. He remembered those excuses. Once it was 'the cat ate the report I made'. He even remembered his infamous excuse of 'getting lost in the road of life' and 'a black cat crossed my path so I had to use another route to avoid bad luck'. Naruto shook his head and wiped the silly smile off his face and entered the office to help lock up.

"Another one of your excuses." Gaara said, clearly not amused because he got the yelling at the end of the day for _all_ late reports. Same thing went for Naruto. "Can't you ever be on time?"

"Sorry. But I do try." Kakashi said, shrugging.

Naruto entered the room, giving Kakashi a polite greeting. "Good afternoon, Hatake-san."

"Yo!" Kakashi said, though it was a bit forced and hard.

"Late again, I presume?" Naruto said, arranging his pen in to his drawer.

"Yeah, well, the pigeon who took the first one really liked it. Said something about the ink being tasty." Kakashi said, eye curved in his happy-go-lucky way.

Naruto couldn't stop the smile from reaching the corners of his lips and only realized it when Kakashi was staring stupidly at him. Naruto turned his back to him, now facing Gaara. Gaara was looking a bit amused about the whole situation. He was actually smirking.

"Well, next time -" Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose to shoo away the onslaught of nausea and brain racking migraine. "Make sure you tell the pigeons to bug off. We get the yelling at the end of the day."

"Yes, yes. I'll tell the pigeon." Kakashi said, waving a hand. He then peered at Naruto. "You all right?"

"Fine." Naruto said. He looked at Gaara and sighed. "Let's go. I'm tired."

"Should have slept in this morning." Gaara whispered, as the three of them left the mission room.

Naruto stood close to Gaara, his headache getting worst and worst. His vision was getting blurry and everything seemed to double then triple. He blinked it away to clear his mind. Only when they were finally in the open field in front of the gates did he start to feel too light for comfort.

"Damn." He whispered, and stopped walking. Gaara peered at him cautiously, while Kakashi turned to look behind him to see what was going on.

"Hey." Gaara whispered, Kakashi already approaching them.

"I'm fine." Naruto said, giving Gaara a reassuring look before squaring his shoulders a bit and continuing walking.

Only when he took roughly about five steps, did his world finally go black.

XXX

Gaara saw it quicker than Kakashi did, but he chose to stand rooted to the spot and left Kakashi to do the catching. Kakashi caught Naruto's torso and ended up kneeling on the ground and holding Naruto's head securely in his arms, giving his shoulders some support with the use of his kneeling position.

"I knew he wasn't feeling well." Kakashi hissed. "He's too tired out." He looked up at Gaara. "And I don't think it's from paperwork."

Gaara's face betrayed nothing. "Whatever. Hand him over. I'll take him home."

"No." Kakashi said. "I'll take care of him."

"He won't like it." Gaara said. "I'm warning you."

"What would you know?" Kakashi asked, anger gnawing at him. He'd never really liked or fancied the idea of having Gaara living with Naruto and being close to him nearly _all_ the time. In fact, he downright opposed it. But he heard from Iruka that Gaara was a rather nice boy and was organized. He even heard that Gaara kept Naruto in-check. It pissed him off so bad that he was tempted to punch the redhead squarely in the face.

"Birds of a feather, Hatake-san." Gaara said. "But that's beside the point. If you really cared, he wouldn't have left."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Gaara was crossing roads he was never meant to cross and Kakashi began to wonder. Was there something between Gaara and Naruto? "You know nothing. Stay out of this. I'll take him home when he's better."

"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll lose my job if I put up a fight with you. But I warn you, he won't like it." Gaara turned to walk away. "One more thing. Do anything stupid and I won't hesitate to kill you."

"You wouldn't, even if you're life depended on it." Kakashi retorted back.

"You'd be surprised, Hatake-san. You'd be very surprised." Gaara said, and left.

Kakashi muttered a few curses under his breath and carried Naruto to his apartment. Once inside the safe confines of his warm house, he settled Naruto on the bed, gently propping the pillow under his head and removing his sandals and flak jacket. He stowed them away carefully and returned to cover Naruto with a blanket, but stopped midway. His eyes strayed to the necklace hanging out of Naruto's turtleneck. He knew that it was the necklace owned by the first Hokage and he knew its value. But that's not what he was gaping at. It was the ring. The ring that he knew so well because he had gotten an imprint of that ring on his face once a long time ago when his teacher had punched him during training.

Almost in a daze, he reached out to lift the ring so that he could take a closer look. His fingers gently touched the smooth surfaces, taking in its shape and contour. A million questions zipped through his mind. It was when he felt the sharp sting of his hand being slapped away that his eyes settled on Naruto's narrowed blue ones. Naruto had the ring tightly around his hand, which he quickly shoved under the collar of his turtleneck.

"Where did you get that?" Kakashi asked slowly.

"Why do you ask?" Naruto said, sitting up.

"Just answer the question!" Kakashi snapped.

Naruto blinked at the reaction and began a silent a debate within himself. "None of your business." Naruto made movement to sit up, but Kakashi pinned him down on the bed, leaning over him and pressing Naruto's hands down on both sides of his head.

"Answer me." Kakashi hissed. "Please." He added softly, looking away.

Naruto swallowed. "It was left behind for me, that's all I'm going to say."

Kakashi turned to look at him and stared deeply into Naruto's eyes. Then he knew it. It was like looking at an old photo only there was a softer touch. Like more cream in coffee. Naruto was a spitting image of his teacher and mentor. But something about him was genuine and surreal. Not even the fourth's eyes were this vibrant and this intense.

And he never noticed!

"You're - oh god." Kakashi whispered and then he felt horrible. He didn't even know what to feel and all he could do was burry his face in shame in the hollow of Naruto's neck. Kakashi remained like that for several long minutes, mask and hair band still in place. "I'm so sorry."

"Hatake-san."

"I didn't know. I should have! You look so much like him!" Kakashi pulled back and stared into Naruto's eyes, releasing his hands and supporting himself with the help of the mattress rather than Naruto's wrists. "Forgive me. I - I can't live with the idea of you hating me. I couldn't. Forgive me, Naruto."

Naruto stared at Kakashi sad and pleading eye. Then he just did what first came to his mind. He propped himself up a bit and gently touched his lips to Kakashi's, the feeling of the soft silky fabric of his mask tickling his lips as he kissed the older man.

When he pulled back, Kakashi was zoning out. He was _not_ expecting that and it had definitely caught him off guard. Naruto turned his head away and slowly sat up, sliding himself away from Kakashi and standing up from the bed. He made his way towards the door, but Kakashi gripped his wrist, stopping him before moving to stand in front of him. Kakashi pulled his mask down. Naruto stared almost owlishly at Kakashi's smooth and alabaster features. The scar running down his eye didn't even seem bad at all. He was indeed handsome and had very appreciating looks. Kakashi gently traced a finger down Naruto's cheek and made the boy face him. He didn't even say anything but leaned forward and pressed his lips to Naruto, gently kissing him. He gave Naruto's bottom lip a sensual lick before pushing his tongue into his mouth. Naruto let out a little whimper but soon had his hands resting on Kakashi's neck and kissing him with equal fervor.

It was not something Kakashi had hoped would happen. Nor was it something he would have ever thought would happen. But for some strange reason, he suddenly understood that he had fallen hard for Naruto, ever since the boy left.

Desire devoured Kakashi and Naruto and soon their hands were all over each other, roaming, touching and searching. Kakashi leaned lower and began to suck on Naruto's neck, while Naruto placed his hands on his shoulders and leaned back, a groan escaping the back of his throat, causing a shiver to run down Kakashi's spine. A large red mark was left screaming on Naruto's neck. Kakashi moved back up and pressed his lips against Naruto once more, both breathing hard and groaning in unison. Somehow, in the middle of it all, Kakashi managed to pin Naruto against the wall as they continued kissing. Naruto's hips were grinding against Kakashi's while the Jounin's thighs rubbed against Naruto's. It was a series of hot lustful movements full of burning desire all mashed up to one puddle of goo.

"Oh god." Naruto gasped as Kakashi's hands slid past the waistline of his pants. "Stop." Kakashi paid no heed. "Stop!" Naruto hissed louder. "Damnit, I said, stop!" Naruto shoved Kakashi off him. Kakashi stared at him, a bit surprised, all feelings of lust suddenly vanishing. "No. Not yet. I can't." Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "I have to go."

"Naruto, wait." Kakashi grabbed him and held him. "I - I'm sorry."

Naruto looked at him for a long moment before turning away. "Me too."

As the door closed, Kakashi briefly wondered if Naruto was sorry for the moment-of-lust kiss or just sorry because Kakashi and he could never be.

Either way, Kakashi felt a dull ache in his chest.

And it wouldn't go away.

XXX

Naruto entered the apartment he and Gaara now shared and found Gaara sitting on the couch, reading a mission scroll.

"Another one?" Naruto asked.

"Not your regular one. More of a rescue and assassination." Gaara said, tossing Naruto the scroll. "Location is not far. An hour away from here almost. We have to move tonight."

Naruto read the contents of the scroll, eyes growing wide by the second. "An entire ANBU unit is being held in captivity?"

"Read further." Gaara said, taking out a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Sasuke. Neji. Shino." Naruto whispered, eyes slightly darkening. "It doesn't say who we're up against. Did she tell you?" By she, he meant Tsunade.

"Yes." Gaara said. "The minor members of Akatsuki are holding them. Maybe four or five, the details are not clear. But they're Akatsuki minors."

Naruto knew better. Minors usually meant someone within the skill level of Kakashi or Gai. They were people _not_ to be messed with at all. "We'll go. We have to bring those ANBU back."

Gaara said nothing. But Naruto knew that Gaara would follow him.

TBC

Oh! Steamy! Yum!

Me ish thinking of writing a Genma/Gaara fic. Oh, oh and Yondaime/Iruka too! He, he, he!

This IS a KakaNaru fic. Just you wait and see. Oh and I'm still really thinking of making this a deathfic, but a few ideas of NOT making it in to one popped up, so I'm still vague on how the ending should be.


	12. Chapter 12

Here's the beta-read version! Weeee! Arigatou V-chan!

Special thank you to DragonSoul. This chapter is dedicated to you for your wonderful suggestion on the reason of Haku being alive!

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 12**

They crouched behind the pile of rocks, seeing the entrance of a cave that lead to some sort of tunnel. According to the information they had, the tunnel would lead to the headquarters lying several feet underground. Naruto had memorized the map by heart and so had Gaara. The gaping hole below them that had stone steps was not the only entrance. There was another way and shinobis who got that information returned to Konoha barely breathing.

"We'll go through route D." Gaara said. "It is less used and less guarded."

"Right." Naruto nodded, tightening the mask around his face. "Let's go."

They made their way down the rocky edges and got away from the site nearing the entrance. They made their way to the river, wading down silently, the water barely even rippling with their skilled stealth. As they neared the sudden plunging gorge that lead to deeper waters, both stopped and studied their surrounding for a while.

"It's risky." Gaara said.

"We don't have a choice." Gaara nodded at Naruto's words as they both positioned their hands and performed a basic underwater jutsu that was common to all shinobi.

They dove silently deep into the gorge and made their way around the sharp rocky edges. There were skulls that littered the rock's surface, with weeds and green muck attached to the smooth white surfaces of the bone. There were dying sea corrals and little fish that seemed to resemble a parasite rather than a fish. They swam around the rocky gorge, and then began a quick descend. A small hole, large enough for a person to wedge through greeted them. They paused and eyed it for a few brief seconds before making their way in. The tunnel required them to stretch their hands out and pull themselves forward by grabbing the rocky surfaces. It soon began to ascend and after a few minutes, both surfaced to open air.

They found themselves in a cave of some sort. They made their way to a corner and pulled themselves out, breathing getting back to its normal functions. Gaara gave the place a cautious look, before nodding towards Naruto, head tilting to the general direction of a hole in the wall. With quiet and trained footsteps, they made their way towards the hole, climbed in to it and began to crawl through a narrow passage way. Voices suddenly became clear and they found themselves peeking down into a long hallway with several doors. Towards the left side, the metal doors looked fancy. Naruto remembered the map clearly and the last four doors were the offices while the other dull looking doors with thick padlocks and chains along with incantation tags stuck on them were used for holding prisoners or hostages.

Gaara signaled with swift movements of his wrist that that there were a grand total of seven people in the place, two of which were in the office area, four right below them, standing guard upon the doors and one was outside, by the entrance. Naruto signaled him to take care of the four while he tackled the ones in the office. Gaara took out the pouch of sand from his back pocket and poured some on to his palm. Almost gracefully, he blew the sand towards the area below them, the light golden grains drifting down.

Naruto watched as Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand while the sand that was but half a palm full was suddenly multiplying. Shouts of surprise and desperation began to fill the silent corridors. Naruto turned to look away, as the sickening crack and squish of the sand killing the four below him echoed in the corridors. Naruto dared not underestimate the ones guarding the door. They merely had their guard down. Naruto and Gaara didn't become Tsunade's prized hunter pair for nothing. But to Naruto, it was pure luck that Gaara managed to catch them off guard. He leapt down and crept towards the office area. Gaara had disappeared down the hall to take care of the last person by the entrance.

Trusting Gaara, he went about his own task. He pushed the first door open and found the room empty. He cautiously looked around and stood in the middle of the room, keeping his senses wide open. He looked for a mistake, a clue, a sign. He snapped his eyes open at the slight movement of his opponent and pulled out one of his short knives and flung it at the general direction to where his said opponent was hiding. He pulled out the other one and leapt in the opposite direction, dodging several long needles flung towards his throat. The walls suddenly turned into ice. Narrowing his eyes, he flipped to one side and charged quickly from behind the person that was controlling the ice. He gave the person a sharp kick on side, the sound of cracking ribs reaching his ears. Footsteps rushing towards him alerted him. He turned, just in time to block a swishing attack of a long sword with one of his short ones.

His opponent looked fairly old, maybe around his mid-thrities, with long brown hair streaked with a little gray. His amber eyes were burning, blood running down his cheek, caused by the sword that Naruto had flung towards him earlier. The other one was lying on the floor, unable to move one side of his body due to the broken ribs. Naruto was surprised that he didn't suffocate yet.

"You!" His opponent hissed.

Naruto pushed aside the long sword with his short one. His eyes flicked up briefly. He delivered a powerful kick towards the man, who blocked the impact of the sole of his boot with the blunt edge of the sword. Naruto flipped in the air and delivered a devastating kick on the side of the man's head, before using his other leg as leverage and pushing him back with another kick, just in time as Gaara pulled out one of his short swords from his position in the doorway. The man's back came into contact with Gaara's sword, instantly dying as the base of his spinal chord was cut off by the blade. Gaara emotionlessly pushed the man aside, flicking his blade to get rid of the blood before sheathing them.

"Where are they?" Naruto asked.

"Inside." Gaara said, jerking a thumb behind him in the general direction of the other doors. "I'll get them."

"Right." Naruto said, and approached the person lying face down on the floor. He knelt beside the gasping person and pushed him so that he was lying on his back. The person was wearing a black mask, much like what Kakashi wore, along with the long black cloak that most Akatsuki members seem to favor. Naruto took out a kunai and prepared to slit the throat of the man before him. His eyes opened slowly, staring at Naruto's masked face briefly. He began to choke, as his eyes widened.

"D-Don't k-kill m-me! Don't w-want t-t-to da-da-di -" A gasp of pain came out of the masked face.

Naruto blinked behind his mask. He reached out with his other hand and pulled the black mask down. He found himself staring at the person, all senses suddenly going numb. His lungs suddenly stopped working and his heart froze in mid-beat for a second. It was like thinking back to a memory. A memory that forever nagged him and sometimes haunted him in his times of solitude and even in battles.

"They're waiting outside. All five are unconscious and with clones." Gaara said from behind him, approaching him and staring at the now unconscious person.

Gaara's voice snapped his mind to work properly again. He sucked in a shaking breath and calmed his rapidly beating heart. "We'll need another clone." Naruto said, looking down the figure. "We're taking him with us."

Gaara did not question his decision and simply called up another sand clone to help lift the unconscious body as they made their way swiftly to the exit. Naruto burned the area, and made sure that the entrance was caved in with thick tree roots with the help of a simple earth-based jutsu.

Once they reached the borders of Konoha, Naruto stopped. "Take him home." He said, gesturing to the last figure in the arms of the sand clone, the trademark cloak of the Akatsuki organization now soaked with blood. "I'll handle these." He gestured to the five unconscious ANBU, and his eyes strayed towards Sasuke. Gaara gave an affirmative nod as Naruto called up five shadow clones to replace the sand ones.

He and Gaara parted ways, as Naruto pulled up the hood of his cloak over his mop of golden hair and headed for the private sector of the general hospital, where mostly ANBUs and sometimes the occasional Hunters were taken for treatment. Shizune was on duty along with Tsunade that night.

"Tsuande-sama is waiting for you in room E-five-two, _Akatsume-san_." Shizune said, bowing politely to Naruto's masked and cloaked figure, while medics took the unconscious ANBU forms on to stretchers and wheeled them away to separate rooms to begin treatment. He gave Shizune a polite nod and headed for the room where Tsunade was waiting.

Upon entering the room, he noticed Tsunade staring out the window, a pair of bloodied gloves on a metal tray along with some scalpels and blood soaked cottons and antiseptics beside her on a stainless steel table. "Where's your partner?"

"I sent him home." Naruto said.

Tsunade turned to face him. "Jiraiya saw you at the borders on his way back from the hot springs." Naruto did not like where the conversation was heading, but he stood his ground. "Your mission stated retrieving five ANBU members. Not six." Naruto refused to speak, and merely continued staring at her from behind the mask. "Who is the sixth person your brought back?"

Silence.

"Give me time, Hokage-sama." Naruto said. "I assure you that I would never bring danger to the village."

"That's not what I meant." Tsunade said, narrowing her eyes angrily. "Who did you bring back?"

"Three days." Naruto said, taking his mask off and allowing Tsunade to see his pale and rather haunted face. "Give me three days and I will tell you. I request that you let Gaara take leave from work to keep an eye on -" He thought of a word. "Our guest."

"Guest?" Tsunade said rather sarcastically. "The safety of the village is at stake here! Who did you bring back, Naruto?" She demanded.

Naruto felt all blood drain from his face at the thought of the person waiting in his house with Gaara. "Someone who I thought died a long time ago."

_Kakashi._

The effect of his thoughts were almost immediate. He felt boiling anger rise in him.

Tsunade frowned. "Who?"

Naruto stared up at her, suddenly looking much older and so very tired. "Please." He said. "Trust me."

Tsuande inhaled. "Three days. I will let you and Gaara take the day off. After three days, I expect to hear from you and possibly, see this person. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Naruto placed his mask back on and disappeared in a swish of mighty wind.

Tsunade stared at the spot to where Naruto was standing and despite her reaction to Naruto earlier, she was proud of him.

It was a wise decision to send him on this mission after all.

XXX

Naruto entered his apartment and found Gaara already out of his Hunter outfit and now sterilizing equipment with antiseptics and hot water. The thick curtains of his apartment windows were all drawn close and an illusion jutsu surrounded the place. Naruto could feel the slight unsteady beating of Gaara's chakra bouncing off the walls. Gaara didn't even look tired, but the unsteady chakra said otherwise. Naruto knew that Gaara was overworked, much like himself, but it couldn't be helped.

They were Hunters.

Naruto pulled his gear off and changed into different clothes quickly before washing his hands in antiseptic and pulling on some rubber gloves. He then headed for the storeroom made into some sort of clinic where the figure was lying stripped off from all forms of clothing, naked and pale under the white light glowing from the lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. Gaara appeared seconds later, with all medicines and antiseptics ready.

"Five broken ribs, a concussion and minor cuts in both arms and forehead." Gaara said, and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves.

"Breathing is stable." Naruto said. He took a good look at the cuts on the figure's chest, the broken bones out of place and causing the skin to have uneven bumps.

"He should be dead." Gaara said.

"He's not." Naruto answered, injecting antibiotics and anesthesia in to the pale body. "He hasn't been all this time."

Gaara gave Naruto a long look before beginning the tedious task of fixing up the body before him.

As Hunters, they were trained heavily under the medical field. In desperate situations like these, they had to use the other version of healing with the help of chakra and medicine combined. In this case, Gaara had to rearrange the figure's bone structure with his hands while Naruto used chakra to heal the bones. Such healing techniques consumed too much chakra, hence the minor injuries like the cuts and bruises were dealt with the traditional way of bandaging and applying medicinal ointment. Once or twice, in the middle of fixing the bone structure of the torso area, the figure bucked and whimpers of pain came from the pale lips. It was not surprising since such healing techniques did have such an effect on patients even when they were unconscious. It was too painful to handle and usually involved a huge amount of morphine given to the patient because of the aftermath remnants of the chakra healing.

Three hours later, the figure was lying on Naruto's bed, under the covers, body kept immobile by a few nerve endings that Naruto blocked temporarily.

"No work tomorrow." Naruto said, as Gaara sat on his bed, staying on one side.

"Use that time to recuperate." Gaara said, staring at the window, while Naruto lay on the other side of the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes. "You'll need it."

"Yeah."

In seconds, Naruto fell asleep, leaving Gaara to watch over him.

XXX

Three days went by a blur and Gaara was the one going out of the house to restock on food supply. Naruto more or less remained in bed in those seventy-two hours of blissful rest. It was not until the third day, when just as he predicted, the figure lying in the next room would be amongst the living once more.

Shower fresh and clean, Naruto entered the room, Gaara already speaking to the figure.

"Nerve endings are blocked. Security purposes." Gaara answered the question the figure asked.

"I see." Came the quiet and raspy reply.

Naruto stood beside Gaara, staring into the dark chocolate orbs of the person lying on the bed, a memory so long ago flashing in his mind. He remembered him like it was only yesterday. The fight between him and Sasuke, the water mirrors, the pink kimono and the tedious task of gathering medicinal herbs from a field in the forest were swishing in his mind like a fast flipping picture book.

"You're not dead." Naruto said, and the figure on the bed, smiled. Smiled with joy and relief. "Tell me."

XXX

Tsunade was not happy. Jiraiya was not saying anything. He remained quiet, leaning against the window and watched the two argue.

"It was a mistake!" Naruto said tightly. "He didn't know _Akatsuki_ was a complex organization! He didn't have a purpose! He was young! Naïve! Why can't you see that?"

"Listen to your argument!" Tsunade said, standing up. "You want him to stay here, as a shinobi, just because you once knew him, and thought he was dead? In case you've forgotten, Naruto, he is still an Akatsuki member. That point is enough reason to not let him stay!"

"He won't betray Konoha." Naruto said in a well-controlled, fury-induced voice.

"How can you be so sure? You said he was taken in by minor Akatsuki members, trained him to become a mere soldier for their growing organization, and his cause of agreement was because they told him that they could bring his _precious someone_ back? What kind of a stable argument is that? The chances of him betraying Konoha _are_ high!" Tsunade's voice was firm and authoritative.

"He won't betray Konoha." Naruto said.

"How can you be so sure? You're not telepathic, Naruto, with Kyuubi in you or not. What reassurance does the whole village have?" Tsunade asked.

_"I didn't know what I was getting myself in to and then I couldn't do anything. No matter how much I wanted to leave the organization, I couldn't. It was too risky. Your arrival just relieved me of my duties. I'm yours. I will follow you no matter where you go. I owe you my life, Naruto. Don't send me away! Please!"_

Naruto's eyes darkened towards Tsunade. "He will _not_ betray Konoha. He will _not betray ME_!" Tsunade stared at Naruto for a while, his voice already striking something inside her that made her believe him almost immediately. "You can benefit from him. Konoha can benefit from him. Whatever, the remains of the headquarters are now nothing but rocks and ashes. They know he is dead. Whatever threat there may be, they are small ones."

"But they are _there! _It's not convincing."

"He has an advanced bloodline, maybe even as strong as the Hyuugas and Uchihas." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes some more. He was beginning to lose his patience. Tsunade was simply very stubborn and hard to crack. "He can make a good Hunter. He will be with _me_ _always_. All he needs is citizenship and possibly a new identity. Akatsuki knew him as Yuki, not by what _we_ know him as."

"We?" Tsunade asked.

"It's his fault!" Naruto snapped. "He killed him years ago! He even buried him! How stupid of me to fall for such a simple trick! All this time, I thought he was dead! Because I saw him die!" Naruto said, more to himself rather than Tsunade. Jiraiya finally shifted and stood straighter.

"Naruto." He warned, trying to get Naruto to control his growing anger.

Tsunade knew of the A-rank mission given to team seven by mistake. She knew what happened in the Wave country and she also knew of what Kakashi did. Taking the boy in would be all right, as long as he takes up his old identity. According to Jiraiya, who spoke to Tsunade before Naruto did that morning, _Haku_ was _not_ a registered Mist shinobi. The Mist Village didn't even have _any_ record about a _Haku_ being born. For some reason, Naruto's words ran far more personal than he deemed it to be.

"He never _told me_!" Naruto hissed.

"Naruto." Jiraiya repeated. "Calm yourself."

Naruto remained quiet for a while, eyes cold and hard. "I will consider the arrangement." Tsunade said. "He will have to be hidden for a while and a talk with your previous teammates will be needed since they will have to get used to the idea of having him around, even with the knowledge that he's been alive -"

"What?" Naruto asked, snapping his eyes up and looking at Tsunade.

Tsunade mentally kicked herself.

Jiraiya stepped forward this time, standing beside Tsunade. "Be quiet." He said and three knocks sounded from the door. The door opened and in stepped Kakashi.

"Hokage-sama, the daimyos has arrived. Securities are in check and -" Kakashi stopped short when Naruto slowly turned to face him, anger all over his face, and growled.

"You!"

TBC

8 pages! OMG!

I am an evil person! I am also open to suggestions to _how_ Kakashi and Naruto could get together. Mind you, if I don't use yours, that doesn't mean I won't use it for other KakaNaru future fics. That, I will keep it in mind!

Again, I am an evil, evil, evil person! I'll tell you a secret! I am a crucial henchwoman of Orochimaru! I live to torture people from romance and hardcore Yaoi material! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, me ish sugar high. Gomen!

ToodleS!


	13. Chapter 13

Ummm - update! Weeeeee!

Beta-read version by V-chan! Mwah! Sankyuu!

Uh, I really have nothing to say to this. Someone asked why Naruto was mad at Kakashi. You'll find out in this chapter. If it's still not clear, tell me and I'll leave an end-note explanation in the end of the next chapter.

Enjoy.

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 13**

Kakashi did not have time to react. In a blinding speed, the door was shut firmly with a loud bang and his back was pressed against the hard and heavy wood harshly. His bones made cracking noises at the sudden impact and stars danced in front of his eyes. Fingers that were gripping his collar now shifted and were around his neck.

Squeezing.

He gasped for breath, too stunned to even fight back against his ex-student. Choking noises bubbled at the back of his throat and he was starting to see black spots from the lack of air. If Naruto had gripped him any tighter, his windpipe would have been human caviar.

"Why didn't you fucking tell me?" He shouted, squeezing tighter.

"Naruto!" Tsunade said, too shocked to even stop him from the beginning.

"You gave him a chance! He was alive! You all knew! You all fucking knew and you never fucking told me! You bastard!" Naruto pushed him further up against the wall. Out of desperation, Kakashi gripped his wrists, trying to breathe, but couldn't. Naruto's eyes were a hellish red color, with slits running down the center of it. "Bastard!" Naruto yelled and squeezed harder.

Recovering from shock, Jiraiya moved fast and gave Naruto's neck a firm hand chop, making him lose consciousness immediately. Naruto slumped to one side, fingers dropping free from Kakashi's neck. Kakashi slid down the door, fingers going around his neck as he gasped and wheezed for breath. He stared at Naruto's unconscious form, his single eye wide at what just happened.

"W-What -?" He asked, rattled and utterly confused. He felt Naruto's anger dripping like venom and for a few seconds, he felt afraid. He thought for a moment that Naruto was really going to kill him.

"Take him with you Jiraiya." Tsunade said. "Take him home."

Jiraiya didn't even wait to be told again and disappeared in a swirl of chakra, Naruto vanishing with him. Kakashi regained some of his composure and stood up on his feet. Sadness washed over him like a huge tidal wave. The mere idea that Naruto would not hesitate to kill him and the fact that he was angry at him for reasons that he did not know rattled him. For once, all logical thought fled from his mind for that brief five minutes while he tried to pull himself together. He felt the intense hatred; the venomous anger and overwhelming intent to kill slap him hard that he was too shocked to even put up a fight.

Not with Naruto.

Never with Naruto.

"Naruto." He whispered, chest starting to ache.

"I cannot offer you any words of comfort Kakashi. But for now, I suggest you stay out of his way. He's been reminded of a few incidents during his travel with Jiraiya that made him lose his temper." Tsunade said and the excuse had an indirect truth in it. It was a good thing Jiraiya stopped Naruto in time before any further damage came around.

Kakashi nodded and left.

There really wasn't anything he could say.

XXX

Naruto opened his eyes and his ceiling came to view. He sat up and faced Jiraiya sitting on one of the chairs in his living room. He glared at the man, gritting his teeth in anger.

"How long did they know that he was alive?" He bit out.

Jiraiya looked up at him and his lips thinned. "Kakashi knew from the beginning obviously. Sasuke, I heard, found out two years later, and Sakura about four months later after Sasuke found out." Naruto was seeing everything in red. He was so angry that he stood up and began pacing. "You know why they never told you?"

"They should have!" Naruto snapped. "I had every right to know!"

"They knew you'd react like this." Jiraiya said. He was used to Naruto's hot temper and he knew very well how to handle it. He was probably the only one other than Gaara who did anyway. Not even Tsunade knew how to tackle the boy's temper. "You could have gone mad."

"That's not the point!" Naruto yelled, staring at Jiraiya with anger blazing in his blue eyes that there were slits in the sapphire orbs.

"It is the point." Jiraiya said calmly. "They hid the fact from you because you'd flip, throw a crazy tantrum. Heaven knows what could have happened if you went mad. It was the safest thing to do. Plus, Kakashi thought it would be safer for _your sake_ if you didn't know!"

"What the hell does he know?" Naruto roared, his angered fueled even more.

"I personally think that he made a wise decision. Also, neither Kakashi nor your teammates knew what happened to Haku after that." Naruto growled and clenched his fists. "Your anger is uncalled for. In fact, it's not even on Haku's behalf."

"What the hell would you know?" Naruto yelled, clearly forgetting his manners.

"It was never about Haku." Jiraiya pressed on. "This whole issue is more to do with Kakashi rather than Haku himself." Naruto's eyes turned red towards Jiraiya, and his teeth flashed. "It's always about Kakashi. You don't hate him like you show you do. I doubt you ever did anyway."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes some more.

"Is this how it's going to be?" Jiraiya asked, quite annoyed by how Naruto was reacting.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He said stubbornly, shouting again.

"Calm down!" Jiraiya finally snapped. "This is not a behavior for a Hunter. This is not a behavior for a shinobi! For crying out loud, you nearly killed him! What is the matter with you? You should be ashamed of yourself! He was your father's prized student!"

"Goddamnit!" Naruto yelled and punched the nearest wall. The cement cracked and his hand went through, a hole easily made in the light yellow painted wall that separated Gaara's room from the living room.

Jiraiya said nothing as drops of red trickled down Naruto's arm and fell onto the clean floor. "Naruto." He said tiredly. "We shinobis live in a world of death. It's practically waiting just around the corner. You once said that you'd walk down a path with no regrets." Naruto shut his eyes tightly at his words. "But you're walking on one now that's filled with them. You have a chance for happiness and for something that you've been looking for blindly in the dark. Don't throw it away." Jiraiya turned towards the front door, taking the knob in his hand. "There is nothing wrong with your teammates or Kakashi. It's just you who is trying to hate all of them."

Without another word, Jiraiya left the apartment.

Naruto wrenched his hand from the wall and punched it again, successfully making a second hole. Frustration and hidden desperation overwhelmed him, making his knees buck as he knelt on the floor, his head touching the dusty wall. He shut his eyes, gritting his teeth and trying desperately to control his feelings.

"Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!" He hissed, thumping his fist on the wall, voice cracking as he continued repeating the word.

Gaara came out from the room, and stood beside Naruto, looking down at him. There was no pity, or anger or annoyance but understanding glowing in the surface of his green eyes. Gaara offered Naruto a hand, and Naruto looked up at him, unshed tears gathering and making the blue orbs look glassy.

"All you can do when you fall down is stand up again." Gaara said quietly, and the barest hint of a smile graced his serious and thin lips.

And like always, Naruto took his hand and stood up.

XXX

Naruto was sitting on the couch, Gaara opposite him watching the night sky from the window. Neither needed to talk. Just the presence of each other was comforting enough. The sound of one of the doors opening from the hallway made the both of them look up and find Haku walking down the hall. His injuries were already long gone due to advanced healing and the fact that Tsunade passed by a few days ago after that incident in her office to take a look at him. Also. Tsunade spent a good time grilling him with psychological questions that after her 'sessions' Haku fell asleep from the throbbing headache he got.

But all in all, he'd been very helpful. As promised to Tsunade, nobody knew that he was around until all papers became official. Haku had grown to look slightly manlier rather than feminine. His eyes were more of an almond shape rather than the wide girly look he had when he was younger. His hair was still long but he tied it in a high ponytail rather than the bun he used to when he was younger. His build was no longer thin, but more lean in a very manly way. His movements remained graceful and although his voice was only slightly a few decibels lower, it was manly enough. He'd also been very helpful in the house.

"Have you two eaten yet?" He asked, looking at the both of them, smiling. He no longer wore any bandages in his body and had his hair tied back at the nape of his neck, and wore a pair of loose gray pants and green shirt.

"Not yet." Naruto answered, while Gaara continued to look at him.

"Well, there's nothing in the fridge. One of you should restock. I can prepare a proper meal instead of you guys getting take out again." He smiled, corner of his eyes crinkling at the gesture.

Naruto was about to stand and restock as Haku suggested, but Gaara beat him to it. "I'll go." He said. "Anything you need in specific?"

"No bitter gourds!" Naruto said, wincing. He hated that vegetable and couldn't stand eating it.

Gaara didn't even bother to reply. "Any greens are fine. Some meat maybe, like beef or fish." Haku suggested.

Gaara nodded and pulled on a jacket, took some money and left the apartment.

XXX

Since the market was no longer open, he opted for the superstore that was open twenty-four hours called the Seven-Leaves. He was glad the place was empty, save for a few late shoppers buying small things like ketchup or a can of beans. He walked down every isle, and told himself that they need detergent powder. Being a Hunter meant too much laundry. Plus it consumed too much soap to wash blood off their clothes. He picked a plain yellow packaged detergent powder and made his way to the canned section. He took a few things, before making his way to the fresh food section.

He scanned the shelves and picked out random things that he knew Naruto ate, and some things that he could digest. Carrots, potatoes, celery, bean sprouts and red cabbage found their way to his basket, as he continued scouting for more greens. He caught sight of the radishes and took a while to decide whether he should get one or not, and got caught up staring at it from all angles.

"Gaara."

He flicked his eyes to his left and found Kakashi standing with a basket filled with instant foodstuff. "Hatake-san." He greeted, dipping his head a bit.

"You shop?" Kakashi asked, slightly surprised at the idea of the 'sand freak' carrying a basket filled with food.

"I eat. So does Naruto." He said, and decided not to add the radishes to his basket and moved on to the eggplants, examining them.

Kakashi didn't say anything for a moment. When he did, Gaara faced him. "How is he?"

"He's fine." Gaara said, eyeing him from head to toe.

"I haven't seen him for almost a week."

"He's taken a holiday."

"You too?"

"Report filing is a lot more tiresome that you think it is." Gaara answered, before turning back to the eggplants.

"How is he?" Kakashi asked again.

"I said he's fine." Gaara answered and took three plump eggplants. He then found a bunch of nice cauliflowers and took a medium sized one.

"That's not what I meant." Kakashi said, following Gaara to the fruits section.

"I can't say anything." Gaara said, taking some oranges and apples and placing them in to his basket. "If there's anything you want to know, then go face him. I'm not a bridge."

Kakashi gave a nervous laugh. "Of course. Of course." Gaara debated whether to get some grapes or cherries. He didn't know which one to get because he wasn't sure which one Naruto liked. "Cherries." Kakashi said, picking a nice plastic bag with plump and juicy looking ones. "Naruto loves cherries." Gaara turned to look at Kakashi, and for a moment they just stared at each other. "Ah, sorry." Gaara merely shook his head, and then stopped to stare at the fresh kiwis. Haku liked them very much, but the price was leering at him. It was too expensive. "Naruto doesn't like kiwis. He says they look like donkey shit."

The answer was automatic. "I like them."

"Ah, of course. I forgot for a moment that you two live together." Kakashi forced a smile under his mask, and took some pears, placing a small plastic bag into his basket.

Gaara turned to give him a long blank look, debating whether to kick the man in the shins or just grab one of the nice big pineapples and smack him the face with it. "Don't like the idea, do you?"

"Never did." Kakashi said, staring back at him with a bored yet angry expression. Gaara was very tempted to punch the jounin in the face. Or maybe he'd let Shukaku loose one night and just swallow him up. The guy was thick! "His safety comes first."

"When he's with me, he is safe. Safer than he'll ever be when he's with you." Gaara said, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi. "Let me tell you something, Hatake-san." Gaara shifted and narrowed his eyes even more. "I would happily give my life for Naruto. I would follow him wherever he went, and I will protect him, even from you. If I _ever_ find out that _you_ are the cause of his pain, I will _not hesitate_ to rip you to shreds. And that counts for anybody else in this village." Kakashi blinked. To say that he was shocked at Gaara's sudden speech was a mellow way of putting it.

"It's hard to trust a killer." Kakashi asked.

"You're a ninja. That automatically makes you just as bad." Gaara replied, and walked past Kakashi towards the meat section, asking for boneless salmon and some beef cubes. Kakashi did not follow him anymore, but went to the pasta section of the superstore.

Once Gaara had everything he needed, he grabbed a pack of orange juice and some milk powder before heading to the counter. Kakashi was already exiting the store by the time all his goods were packed. He paid the lady, dipped his head in thanks and carried the two bags in his arms, heading for the direction of home. He found Kakashi standing before him as he took a turn towards the block Naruto's apartment was in.

"You say you'd protect him." Kakashi said quietly. "Can you protect him from yourself?"

Gaara looked at him directly in the eye, piercing him with his intense gaze. He then merely gave Kakashi a dark smile. "You should worry about yourself Hatake-san. You're not the only one interested in Naruto." He then continued walking down the street. "Uchiha is too."

XXX

Gaara entered the house to find Haku in an apron, chipping ice off the freezer, while Naruto collected it in a bucket.

"You could just melt it." Gaara said, setting the grocery bags on the counter.

"Naruto suggested the same thing, but any fire element jutsu could cause the freezer to malfunction." Haku said, smiling at Gaara. "We're nearly done anyway." Haku said, and chipped the last chunk of ice from the corner with a thick knife.

Minutes later, once the freezer was clean, Naruto began to stock the frozen goods in it, leaving some of the salmon out for Haku to cook. Haku was already cutting up some of the vegetables and preparing the broth.

"I'm going for a walk." Naruto said, washing his hands and drying them with a kitchen towel.

"Be back in an hour. Dinner will be ready by then." Haku said, smiling at him as Naruto saluted him with a finger and left.

Gaara began to wash the small plates and other things that Haku no longer needed. While he was drying the place, he spoke up. "How did you get to know Naruto?"

"Long time ago. He was a newly graduated genin at that time. His duties as a leaf shinobi made us face off. He had a mission then and my - my master had his. It was a clash, a fight broke out, but it the end, he couldn't kill me. Kakashi was about to though, but in the end, he gave me a chance." Haku said, eyes misting over as he remembered the fight a long time ago.

"In battle huh?"

"Yes. I heard of your fight with Naruto. Akatsuki knows about it." Haku said, turning to smile at him. "Looks like he got you too, huh?"

"Yeah." Gaara said, drying a plate while a small smile came to his lips.

"He is such a person that would make heads turn, and just fall in love with him." Haku said.

"That makes it three then." Gaara said.

"Three?" Haku blinked.

"Three competing for his heart."

Haku gave out a hearty laugh. "No, no. I love him as a friend, or maybe a younger brother." He then chuckled. "Who's the other two?"

"Hatake. Uchiha." Gaara said, shrugging.

"Do you love him, Gaara?" Haku asked.

"I don't know what love is." Gaara said. "But I'd like to think that maybe this fondness I have for him is not what couples share."

"A friend then." Haku said, smiling. "He is lucky to have a friend like you. Someone who understands him."

Gaara shrugged. "I am grateful to be called his friend. I don't need anything more."

Haku appeared beside him, spoon in hand with some brown colored sauce in it. "Tell me if there's enough salt."

Gaara stared at the spoon then at Haku's smiling face. He took the spoon and tried the broth, wincing because it was slightly hot, but otherwise it tasted fine. "It's good." Haku nodded and went back to finishing off the broth. "It's good to have you around."

"Because I'm a good cook?" Haku asked, smiling at him, cheeks slightly pink.

"That and because Naruto can actually get proper nutrition. I don't mind ramen, but an overdose of it is too much to handle." Gaara said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Haku could only laugh while Gaara gave him a smirk.

TBC

I really think these three "outcasts" would make the perfect family. Well, that's just me. Plus, I'm not making Haku girly. There's a reason to why he knows so much household work.

Will reveal later.

Ja!


	14. Chapter 14

ANSWERS TO DOUBTS: Those who asked for an explanation will find it here.

HAKU'S RETURN – This is a slightly AU fic. I needed Haku to be in this fic to make a few things work. So, during the Mist fight, remember that Kakashi was the one who 'killed' Haku using Chidori? Well, I had Kakashi 'know' Haku was going to be in the middle and had him to some sort of plan to counter it, therefore having Haku alive (probably took him some place else and left a clone behind to continue the battle). Did that make sense? Basically Kakashi didn't kill him but made it look like he killed him. Okay? Zabuza dies. He's too dangerous anyway, so he had to be take out.

NARUTO'S FURY – Naruto was part of team 7 and, if you read the previous chapter, Sasuke and Sakura did find out, but kept it from Naruto. Now, what hurts Naruto is that he was part of the team, he was there and yet no one told him. It angers him to know that they think he's weak, not able to handle such a thing. And look at Jiraiya's reasoning? I think that was enough explanation, ne? But he's mad at Kakashi, because, well, he _wants_ to be mad at him. Like Jiraiya said, the anger is uncalled for. And it's not longer about Haku (that is just the 'cover up' reason), it's all about Kakashi. It's all about Naruto's inability to 'hate' him, no matter what. Which is why, in the beginning of the story, before he left, no matter how bitter he was at Kakashi, he still bid him good-bye and hugged him right? So, it's all about Naruto trying to hate him, but failing. Okay?

Oh and the other Uchiha is Sasuke by the way. Gaara and Haku does not know of Itachi's 'kidnapping' … yet.

And HakuGaara? Err.. no, that does not work for me. I just CANNOT see THAT happen.

Beta-read by V-chan! weeeeeee!

Anyway, enjoy.

PS – This is the non-lemon version. Details below.

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 14**

Naruto hopped over the last residential rooftop and began his ascend towards the roof of the Hokage administrative building. It was a rather cool night, with winter coming just around the corner. It didn't snow in Konoha, but the cold winds and rain were just as nasty. Although snow was beautiful, it was still troublesome to handle. Naruto inhaled deeply, sitting on the roof's railing and gazing at the mountain carvings. They were already working on Tsunade's, the shape of the face and hair already present. Last he heard, the statue would be completed in about four more months. Naruto felt himself smirking. His eyes drifted to the fourth's face, taking in its shape, his gaze lingering towards the eyes. Almond shaped eyes, like his. They were supposed to be blue, not the dull color of stone. His hair was supposed to be gold, like the sun, not the color of stone.

Naruto felt loneliness wash over him. In nights like these, when he let his thoughts wander, he wondered how his father sounded when he spoke, or when he laughed. He wondered how he would hold his cup when drinking his coffee or tea. He wondered how he ate his meal, or how his wrist flicked when using his chopsticks. He wondered what his shoe size could have been, or if he preferred eating oranges to grapes. He wondered if he slept on his side or on his back or maybe even on his stomach. Sometimes, he even wondered if his father was a prankster like himself when he was kid. Was he lazy? Was he always smiling? Did he like telling jokes?

Then the bitter truth would hit him.

He didn't know his father as the person that he was.

Naruto brought a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose.

It was also on nights like these did he wish he could cry so freely.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Naruto flicked his eyes to one corner, seeing Sasuke standing behind the railing. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a nice night. Went out for a walk." Sasuke said, hands in his pockets.

Naruto nodded his head. "Haven't seen you around the mission room lately."

"Yeah, well, I got discharged from the hospital a few days ago." Sasuke said, staring up at the sky. "Got injured during a mission. Hunters brought the entire squad back."

"Yeah?" Naruto said, trying not to smirk.

"Yeah." Sasuke turned to look at Naruto. "Naruto -"

"I have to go." Naruto said, turning his sitting position before hopping off the railing. "It's dinner time." He dipped his head in a form of a polite parting and began to walk the other way when Sasuke's arm shot out, his hand landing on his chest, stopping him. Naruto quirked an eyebrow as Sasuke stared into his eyes.

"Naruto, answer me honestly." Sasuke said, eyes losing its hard and cold edge for a brief moment. "Do I mean anything to you?"

Naruto looked at him for a long moment before bringing his hand up and pulling Sasuke's hand off his shirt gently, giving it a light squeeze before walking away.

Sasuke kept staring at his back, even as he hopped down towards the lower rooftops.

For now, that answer was enough.

XXX

Naruto gaped at the table. "You made all this?"

Haku smiled, pulling a chair and sitting himself. Gaara was already helping himself to some of the rice. Haku made some curry and vegetable salad. Naruto had never had such a spread on his table before and he only ate such food when he was staying over at Iruka's house and that had been a long time ago. But to find it on his table, which was normally empty, Naruto found the sight rather endearing and somewhat heart-warming. It wasn't only the food that did the trick, but the fact that Gaara was already tucking in to his plate, muttering compliments towards Haku, while Haku, in return merely laughed and turned to look at him.

"Some rice, Naruto?" Haku asked.

Naruto, for the first time in front of Gaara and Haku, grinned. Gaara had to stop in mid chew for a while to just stare. Haku continued smiling, glad that he emitted such a reaction from Naruto.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, pulling a chair and sitting. "Yes, please! No, one more, just a little bit more, yes, that's it!" Naruto said, taking his place from Haku who had been scooping rice on to it and setting it in front of him, the grin now a smile on his face, eyes twinkling like a child.

"You're smiling again." Gaara said, eyes softening as Naruto swallowed his rice.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Naruto said, then stared at his plate, eyes not leaving it as he continued to scoop some rice with his chopsticks. "I found a home in the both of you." For a long moment, there was stunned silence, before Gaara gave a small smile, and Haku looked at his own plate, a blush on his cheeks, but his face looking serene and _happy._ "Can I have more rice?" Naruto asked, holding his plate out, mouth stuffed with food. "This is delicious!"

Haku began to laugh and took his plate, scooping more rice on to it, while Gaara, for the first time, began to chuckle.

XXX

A few days later, Haku's papers were ready and he was officially a Konoha citizen. He was given a job in the academy as a field instructor. To say that Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were shocked was an understatement. They were busy ogling at the mere figure of Haku, who was now standing behind Naruto and Gaara in the mission room, looking at them with a smile.

"You - You're here!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Good afternoon, Haruno-san." Haku said, still smiling.

"When did you get here?" Sasuke asked, a smirk on his face. Obviously pleased that Haku was doing well.

"Just a few days ago, really." Haku said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hokage-sama was kind enough to allow me to work here, seeing that I am not a registered ninja of the mist." Sakura and Sasuke nodded in understanding. "Naruto-kun was also nice enough to let me stay at his place."

"He what?" Kakashi asked, blinking and shifted his gaze to Naruto, who was now looking at him with cold and unforgiving eyes. Kakashi found himself shivering at the sight and he remembered the eventful day when Naruto _nearly_ choked him to death. "Naruto, you're full of surprises. What else do you have up your sleeve?" He said, sounding like a joke on the outside, but he meant it. Naruto did not give him an answer but only intensified his heated glare. "So, Haku, are you going to take the chuunin exam? Or Jounin exam?" Kakashi asked, shifting his gaze away from Naruto uncomfortably.

"Neither, really. I'll be teaching at the academy, and I'm sure you've heard of it, Haruno-san." Sakura gave a happy nod, smiling. "No ninja work for me. I'd rather teach."

There was silence for a moment and only then did Sasuke and Sakura realize something. Naruto was not supposed to _know_ that Haku was dead. Sasuke turned his eyes towards Naruto, staring at him for a long while. "Naruto, how did -"

"Thanks for not telling me." Naruto said, and turned to look at Kakashi. His teeth ground together, before Gaara's hand came to his shoulder. "I'm going for a walk. Cover for me, will you?" He said, looking at Gaara, who just nodded.

Naruto left, without saying another word to the people behind him and headed for the waterfalls towards the outskirts of the village.

XXX

Kakashi's mind was a whirl. Gaara was not pointedly looking at him, before green eyes moved towards Sasuke's figure, then back towards his.

"Don't you have something to do, Hatake-san?" Haku said, turning to look at Kakashi. "Don't want to be late again, do we?" Sasuke and Sakura turned to look at Haku with raised eyebrows. "Ah, Naruto-kun always whined about the fact that Hatake-san was always a late person when he was younger. I sincerely hope that the habit has gone. Waiting does get tiresome, don't you think?" He smiled at Sakura and Sasuke.

"Yes, in fact, there were times when we simply wanted to just leave our team's meeting point." Sakura said, rubbing her chin in thought.

Kakashi did not care to what Haku was saying. There was just _one_ thing going through his mind at the moment.

_Naruto remembered the old days! _

"Well, I have things to do and places to go." Kakashi said, offering a wave before leaving the room.

Once outside, he began to look for Naruto.

He never would have thought that the day would come when he would curse the village for being _huge_! It took him a good two hours of searching, simply because Naruto didn't leave a trail behind him, which was another thing that puzzled him. Naruto's chakra tracks were _barely_ even present. Even someone like Neji and Sasuke, who were expert ANBU members did not mask their trails this well. So he had to search the long way and before long, he found Naruto sitting on a large rock, overlooking the river, the roar of the waterfalls several meters to his left, as he stared at the flowing water. Kakashi decided to approach him after a minute or two, and stopped a few feet behind him.

"Anything I can help you with, Hatake-san?"

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Yet you didn't."

"It was to protect you." Kakashi stated, a desperate edge present in his voice.

Naruto faced him, eyes filled with rage. "And have me thinking about him over and over again, wondering why I couldn't help him, stop him, wondering why he had to die? You call that protection? Damn you! I nearly went nuts after what happened then! Don't talk to me about protection, you bastard! Don't you fucking _dare_!"

Every word was a blow to him, but he stood his ground. If he had to beat the living daylights out of his thick blonde head of his, he would. Teacher's son or not, he didn't care now.

"It was my duty as a teacher to do what is best for my students." Kakashi said, trying hard not to snap.

"Of course, of course." Naruto said sarcastically, turning back to look at the water. "It's no use arguing with you. You were just doing it to protect me, after all."

Kakashi ground his teeth together. "Naruto, look at me." He said with barely-contained anger. "Look at me!" He shouted, when Naruto didn't listen the first time. Much to his surprise, Naruto did turn to look at him. "Tell me, at my face, that you hate me, and I swear to you that I will _never_ bother you again."

Naruto continued to stare at him, before his eyes suddenly moved to a spot behind him. "I hate you." He hissed.

"Look at me! Not behind me!" Kakashi snapped. Naruto jerked at his voice, the act itself seeming like a crack on his wall of nonchalance. Kakashi felt something inside him soften at the gesture he just witnessed, before Naruto before him vanished in a poof of chakra smoke. Kakashi found himself smiling softly.

Naruto does care.

XXX

_He groaned at the finger running down his spine, gently doing a detour at his hips and trailing towards his stomach, before fingers spread out and caressed his chest, hot breath beating against his exposed throat. A groan escaped his lips as he felt soft ones press against his own, a warm and very wet tongue giving his lower lip a long lick, parting his lips. As they kissed, hands rubbed the side of his arms, as they trailed down to his hips, rubbing the tanned thighs, before crawling lower. He wrapped his arms around the smooth neck, his fingers grasping the soft strands of hair, tugging at them as he groaned when the lips left his and attacked his neck, teeth nibbling at the sensitive skin._

_"Hnn! More!" He breathed out, groaning. "Hnn! Kakashi!"_

"Naruto." A hand came to his shoulder, and snapped his eyes open, staring at Haku's smiling face hovering above his from behind the couch. "Dinner is ready."

Naruto blinked his daze away, and felt a blush cross his cheeks. The dream had been almost so real, so intense and he was suddenly feeling very hot. Shaking his head, he got up and headed for the bathroom, washing his face before joining Gaara and Haku at the table. After eating, Gaara placed a scroll on the table.

A mission scroll.

"Target?" Naruto asked.

"Affiliates with Akatsuki." Gaara answered. "Not big, but still a dangerous one. Eight people."

"They're in the fire country." Haku added. "It says we should complete it before tomorrow."

Naruto nodded, before looking up at the clock. "We should get ready then."

"Yeah." Haku answered, and began to clear the table.

XXX

It was four AM when the three made their way back to the village, smelling of blood and sweat and feeling very tired. Naruto had a rather deep gash on his shoulder, but nothing the Kyuubi couldn't handle healing. Haku and Gaara were fine, but they were worried.

Shower fresh and clothes in the washing machine spinning with detergent soap and water, Gaara approached Naruto. "You were distracted tonight."

"I was." Naruto admitted, and it was all because of one dream. And hell, their targets didn't even put up a fight. They had full advantage of the situation and yet, he came away with a gash on his shoulder. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"Go to him." Gaara said suddenly. Naruto looked up at him and blinked. Gaara shook his head and smiled. "Just for once, throw everything away and get what _you_ want." Gaara handed him his jacket. "Go."

So Naruto left.

XXX

Kakashi woke up to three loud knocks coming from his front door. It was all he could do to not throw the pillow at it. His house was a mere room, with a kitchen and bathroom attached to it. He didn't have any couches or a coffee table, since his bed and bookshelf took up most of the space.

"It better _not_ be a mission." He groaned, and covered half of his face with his hair before padding towards the door. "Coming, coming." He mumbled, and fumbled with the locks, throwing the door open. He blinked in surprise at finding Naruto standing in his doorway, looking up at him with an almost soft expression, but there was still a hard edge to it.

"I don't hate you." Naruto said. In two strides he had his arms around Kakashi's neck, kissing him for all he was worth. Kakashi kicked the door shut, and bolted it with quick fluid motions of his hand before wrapping his arms around Naruto's slender frame, inhaling the barely noticeable sweet and manly scent.

Kakashi pinned Naruto against his door and stared at him, taking in the flushed cheeks and rosy parted lips. He leaned forward and gently licked the soft folds of Naruto's lips before straying to his ear. "I love you. Always have, always will."

"Kiss me." Naruto answered, and Kakashi happily obliged.

XXX

_Here on forward is a Lemon Scene. You can read it by going to my web page in the Profile section and find it labeled as Because You Never Knew 14 – KN in my Deviations list._

_Or if you're lazy (meh!), you can just follow the link below, minus the spaces of course._

_http: www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 11049936/_

_Okay, there we go! That's sorted! _

_PS - Okay, here be the lemon! And it's only one of the few lemon scenes that are going to be tagged to this story. I know the lemon setting is a bit OFF ... but that's the whole point. It's supposed to be OFF ... a very unlikely, spur of the moment sex that takes place between to desiring people. Anyway, things will be clear later._


	15. Chapter 15

This is the non-betaread version. I will replace it once I get it okie dokie? So, apologies in advanced for missed out spelling mistakes or sentence structure! Gomen!

Enjoy!

BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 15 

****

****

****

Kakashi woke up five hours later, and was glad that he closed the curtains the other night. The once dark room was now dim due to the dark colored curtains blocking the morning light. He propped himself up on his elbows and turned to find Naruto with his back to him, one hand on the pillow while the other one wrapped around his middle. Kakashi shivered slightly at the intensity earlier that morning. It had been hot and passionate all in one. He could not get the image of Naruto's face during orgasm and how his voice sounded so husky, deep and arousing. Kakashi pulled the covers higher up till it reached Naruto's forearms, watching the young lad sleep. He could still see the large bite on his shoulder and for a moment, Kakashi wondered why Kyuubi did not heal the bruise yet. He was actually beginning to wonder if the fox had some twisted sense of humor. He found himself smirking and reaching out with his fingers to brush away some of the golden locks off Naruto's face.

He continued to watch Naruto, ignoring the fact that he really had to get out of bed and get to his duties, which were basically just report making and gate duty. But just watching Naruto sleep, beside him, completely naked save for the dark green blanket covering him, with his lips parted slightly while breathing made him too lazy to get to work. It was a rarity to find Naruto in a state like he was at the moment.

Naruto suddenly shifted, eyebrows creasing, a soft whisper of 'no' escaping his lips. Kakashi frowned, and continued to watch as Naruto's fingers clenched around the blanket that was covering him, knuckled turning white from the force.

"No." Naruto said, voice begging. "Stop."

Kakashi grew more puzzled, and decided to wake him. "Naruto." He whispered, and got no reaction. "Naruto!"

"Stop!"

Kakashi sat up and began shaking him. "Naruto!"

XXX

_A hot kunai pierced in to his stomach and he cried out. _

_His hands were made immobile by another pair of hot kunais pinning them on to the thick stone-like slab he was lying on._

_He could feel pulsating electricity flare through his body._

_"Stop!" He begged, crying, as a pair of red eyes stared down at him, while others around him took notes on clipboards. "Please! Let me go!"_

_Black wheels spun. Red dissolved in to black. Black melted in to red, his deep voice ringing in his ears loudly._

_"You will fall someday. And when you, I will come for you."_

_A hot kunai pierced in to his stomach and he cried out. _

_His hands were made immobile by another pair of hot kunais pinning them on to the thick stone-like slab he was lying on._

_He could feel pulsating electricity flare through his body._

_"Stop!" He begged, crying, as a pair of red eyes stared down at him, while others around him took notes on clipboards. "Please! Let me go!" He cried out in pain once more, as he felt more hot kunais burying themselves in to his stomach, right where his seal was. "Stop! Stop!"_

"Stop!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, staring down at him. Naruto stared up blindly, eyes wide, pupils dilated.

Naruto continued to stare blankly at Kakashi, breathing getting heavier and heavier, as his eyes focused on the exposed Sharingan eye. He pushed him away, covering his face with his suddenly shaking hands, feeling oddly cold. He sat up and stared at his stomach, then his hands. It felt real. Just like before.

He wrapped trembling arms around his lean frame. Another pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. "It's just a dream."

Naruto shook awake at his words, and pushed him back. "I should go."

"What?" Kakashi asked, staring at him in disbelief, as Naruto stood up and began to pick up his clothes, pulling them on. "I shouldn't." He whispered to himself. "I mustn't!" He reminded himself once again.

"Shouldn't what? Mustn't what?" Kakashi asked, standing up and pulling his boxers on. "What are you talking about?"

"I should go." Naruto said, shaking his head as he looked for his jacket, finding it beside the shelf.

"You think this is a mistake? Us?" Kakashi asked, voice hard and hurting.

"I don't know." Naruto answered, pulling his sandals on. "I don't know anything! Just – Just stop it!" He snapped, running shaking fingers through his hair. "I shouldn't have! You'll only get hurt!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kakashi demanded, slightly getting worried to what Naruto was babbling about.

"This is a mistake!" Naruto turned, looking at him. "Forget me! Forget I even came here! Forget everything! Just – just do it! It's for your own good!" He winced slightly, rubbing his temple. "You've lived without me for seven years. You can do the same for the next couple of decades."

Naruto darted for the door and fumbled for the locks.

"Damnit!" Kakashi hissed, frustrated and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, turning him around.

"Don't touch me!" Naruto shrieked, pushing him back. "Don't touch me! You don't know what you're getting yourself in to!"

"Then by the heavens, help me! Make me understand!" Kakashi snapped.

Naruto was about to reply when the sound of a hawk flying the sky stopped him. Even Kakashi turned to his window and pulled the curtains open, to find the hawk circling the sky. If ever they needed all ANBU units to assemble, Konoha used a falcon. If it were the hunters, Konoha used the eagle. A hawk usually meant that all chuunins and jounins were needed.

An understanding came between them for the time being.

Duty calls.

XXX

Naruto found himself standing on one corner, beside Gaara and Haku, who were looking at him with a worried expression. Everybody from nearly _all_ families was present. Some of the Hunters that even Naruto didn't know were present, along with several ANBU units that happened to be on duty. He had a pounding headache, and his stomach muscles were rippling, like he was being stabbed.

"Are you all right?" Haku whispered. "You look like you're about to faint."

"Something is wrong." Naruto whispered, wincing as his head pounded.

"Maybe you should sit down." Haku said, voice laced with genuine worry.

"I'll be fine."

Tsunade entered the room, and stood behind her desk, Jiraiya moving towards the windows, where Naruto, Gaara and Haku were standing. Jiraiya gave Naruto a long look, noticing his state immediately, but made no comment.

"Two weeks ago, two ANBU members had gone missing and two days later, their bodies were found in the river. A week ago, an entire squad of hunters were killed, and only their heads were left." Some of the shinobis in the room looked at the floor, while some tensed. "The same things are happening in other villages. The number of shinobis going after exiled ninjas in different villages has been decreasing. Akatsuki is _moving_. There is not a village that is not left in peace. Any could be a target, including ours." There was a murmur amongst the gathered shinobis. Naruto tensed at the news. "Security is going to be increased. No shinobi is to travel alone. He or she must be accompanied by two or preferably three more shinobis especially when near the village borders." She stared at everyone who dared opposed her decision and narrowed her eyes. "I will _not risk_ loosing more warriors when we need them the most. So far, Konoha has managed to bring down some of the networks connected to Akatsuki in the past few months, and several ANBU have brought back completed missions in eliminating some of the important members of Akatsuki. But that in itself, is not enough."

"What do you propose we do?" Genma asked boldly.

"We go after them before they come after us. Other villages are doing the same, for their own safety. ANBU squads twelve, fifteen, nineteen and four will be dispatching tonight. Hunter squads three, nine, eleven and fourteen will be leaving as soon as this meeting is over. Jounins, Jiriaiya and myself will assign you to missions, and you will be traveling in groups. Chuunins, you will also be doing –"

The door burst open, one of the genins left behind to take care of the academy students staring wildly at the Hokage. "Godaime-sama! The students! They've been taken away!"

"What?" Tsunade shouted, standing up.

An explosion of anger and shock erupted. Several chuunins that left their duties in the academy disappeared in a poof of chakra smoke to check up on the problems. Naruto winced, bringing his hand to his head. A hand came to shoulder and he found Gaara peering at him with concerned eyes. Naruto sucked in a shaking breath, before the three of them joined in scouting the area for the children.

XXX

Forty-eight children, and only one clue.Akatsuki. 

Two hours later, Naruto, Haku and Gaara were back in the Hokage's office, reporting nothing but the fact that it was indeed Akatsuki who took the kids because of the organization logo burned on the wall of the classroom where the kids were in. It had caused uproar; making mothers cry and fathers just loose their temper. Naruto himself was going mad. He could feel his blood boil.

"Hunter squads six have reported." Tsunade said, a frown on her face and the veins on her neck bulging from controlled anger. "A trail was left behind that leads directly to Akatsuki's main headquarters." There was an explosion of murmurs and curses. "ANBU squads one, three, five, eight, twelve, fourteen, eighteen and twenty will combine. Uchiha Sasuke, you will lead them."

Sasuke's eyes were already flaring with anger. Naruto saw the look of determination in Sasuke's face, and how his eyes morphed in to red, for a moment causing a spark of fear at the back of his mind. Almost immediately, he countered Tsunade's decision.

"No!" Naruto said, stepping forward.

"What?" Sasuke hissed, turning to give him his most angry and heated glare. "You stay out of this!"

"Uchiha-san." Haku said, his tone warning him.

"You cannot possibly agree!" Sasuke said, half-shouting, turning his gaze back

"Uchiha-san!" Haku warned again.

"Don't send him." Naruto said as calmly as he could, voice tight from the sheer amount of willpower he was putting in to controlling his temper. His face was already flushed red, and Gaara, beside him, was already throwing a very, very dirty look at everyone in the room, who seemed to think that Naruto was completely insane.

"You are being irrational." Shikamaru said, stepping forward. "Sasuke is the best choice to lead the squads, plus, only a Sharingan can fight another Sharingan."

Naruto promptly ignored what Shikamaru said. "You send them, then you run the risk of loosing your best squads!" He snapped, pointing to Sasuke. "You send him to his own death!"

"How dare you? What the hell do you know about this?" Sasuke roared fuming.

"Don't. Send. Him!" Naruto stressed. "Don't send them!"

"Then who do you think should go after them, hmm?" Neji asked. "There is no one else here fitting for the job! Sasuke is the best choice."

"Send me." Naruto said calmly.

"Hokage-sama." Sasuke said, stepping forward. "I disagree with what Naruto suggested. The bloodline of an Uchiha can only be countered with another. And you know that!"

"I am aware of that." Tsunade said calmly.

"Then you cannot possibly agree to what he says!" Sasuke pointed at Naruto, who was standing as rigid as stone, staring calmly at Tsunade, the tensed neck muscles indicating his controlled rage.

"Send me." Naruto said, calmly, flatly. He gestured to Haku and Gaara. "Send us."

Silence.

"With all due respect to Gaara-san and Haku-san, and to you Hokage-sama, I do not find the logic behind such an act." Kakashi said, turning to look at Naruto who was throwing him his most heated glare. "I – I do not think that Naruto is fitting for the job."

"I agree." Iruka said, stepping forward. "Naruto, please. Do not throw your life away like this. Hokage-sama's decision is a wise one."

"Try to understand, Naruto." Gai added, stepping forward.

"Send us." Naruto repeated.

"You are not experienced enough to go! There is absolutely no way you'll live! You walk to your own death. All these years you've been gone, there is no way you can make it!" Sakura reasoned.

"You!" Gaara said, turning to her and pointing a finger at her. "Shut it!"

Tsunade turned to look at Jiraiya who had a serious expression on his face. Tsunade turned to look at Naruto. "What are the chances of the children's safety, should I send you after them?"

"One hundred percent." Naruto answered, confident.

"And yours?" Tsunade asked, eyes glazing with worry.

Naruto took time to answer. "None."

Tsunade paled visibly. "H-Haku? Gaara?"

Gaara stepped forward. "I will follow Naruto, wherever he may choose to go."

Haku stepped forward to be inline with Naruto and Gaara. "Naruto protects the village. I protect him."

For a moment, there was heavy silence. Tsunade forgot that she was Hokage, and just stared at Naruto and the other two that were with him. All three were outcasts, unwanted, hated and despised, yet all three stands together, strong and united, all willing to die for a village both who hated them and at the same, foreign. It was ironic and painful at the same time. For Naruto's sake and protection, she didn't want him to go.

"I don't want you to go." Tsunade said. "I don't want you to die."

"I make no promises." He headed for the door.

Without another word, all three left, to the place they called home, perhaps for the last time.

XXX

In pure outrage and bafflement, Sasuke had blindly chased Naruto down the streets of Konoha until he caught up with him. Naruto wasn't even surprised by his action when he grabbed him from the back by his shoulders and turned him around roughly. Gaara and Haku were already ready to render him unconscious when Naruto shook his head.

"Go. I'll follow." Naruto said, and the two nodded, glaring at Sasuke for brief seconds before continuing down the street towards the apartment they all shared.

"You're mad! Everyone said you were crazy, and now I'm starting to believe them." Sasuke spat out. Naruto said nothing and continued staring at him. "I will stop you! I will stop you from leaving! You left before and now you're back! You're leaving again and you might never come back!" Sasuke pressed on.

Naruto looked at him for a moment before closing his eyes and turning around. "Live with it."

Arms grabbed him from behind, wrapping around his middle, Sasuke's face burying in to his neck. "No."

Naruto swallowed hard, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Sorry, Sasuke. But I can't." He gently pried Sasuke's fingers off him and faced him. "I – "

"Someone else." Sasuke said, face paling slightly, and then smiled. "So you're not that cold then."

Naruto shrugged. "I guess not."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tonight. Maybe at dawn tomorrow."

"Take me with you." Sasuke said.

"No."

"You cannot go alone!"

"I have Haku and Gaara with me."

"What good would they do?"

"They're good enough."

"How can you say that?"

"Because I know them." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes. "They will not betray Konoha."

"Why won't you let me go with you? You owe me an explanation for that at least!" Sasuke pressed. "And don't underestimate me! I can follow you if I want too!"

"I never underestimated you, Sasuke. Even when we were younger." Naruto pointed out. "I do not doubt your skills. At all."

"Then why won't you let me go?" Sasuke asked, feeling his patience run dry.

Naruto turned and began to walk away. "Because I don't want you to die."

Sasuke was suddenly very stumped and frozen on his standing spot that he only reacted when Naruto took a turn in to one of the streets.

XXX

Their gear was all ready. All they had to do was wear them and leave the village.

"You don't have to come." Naruto spoke, looking at Gaara and Haku who were sitting opposite him. "You don't have to throw your life away."

"I go because I chose to." Haku said, smiling at Naruto. "I just can't leave you alone."

"Same here." Gaara answered.

"It's a death mission. No chance of survival." Naruto pointed out, hoping that he'd at least change their minds.

"Then let it be." Gaara shrugged. "At least we die on the field. And not from paper work."

"Yeah." Haku rubbed the back of his neck. "And not in the classroom either." Naruto couldn't help but smile at the poor attempt of a joke. "Ah! Now that's better?"

"What?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to one side, suppressing the smile.

"You're smiling again!" Haku smiled back. Gaara gave a little smirk and threw his arms behind the couch, staring at Naruto. "It's better if you're smiling."

"Yeah." Gaara closed his eyes. "It makes up for those who are incapable of doing so."

Silence.

Then Naruto was laughing, laughing until tears were running down his cheeks. "Did you just crack a joke?"

"Should I be offended?" Gaara countered.

Naruto laughed in even more, banging his open palms on couch's armrest, while Haku covered his mouth to look discreet, but he couldn't stop the amused chuckle from coming out.

"T-That was a good one!" Naruto said, and laughed more. He leaned back against the couch and brought a hand to cover his eyes, the smile from the laugh slowly fading to be replaced by a slightly parted serious expression. "That was a good one." He whispered, and his breath hitched suddenly. He suddenly smirked. "When I was younger, I would have given anything to have what I have now. Companionship, trust and dare I say friendship and understanding." Haku dropped his gaze to his hands, while Gaara stared at his feet. "M-Maybe if I had this then, it wouldn't be so bad." Haku closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. "I didn't know that life could get this good and better." Silent tears trickled down his cheeks. "That I could finally have people to come back to, and call them home."

"Then being a cursed person does have its good things in the long run." Gaara looked up at Naruto, who still had his eyes covered. "Because I sure as hell feel good, for once. And I'm glad I've had a chance to feel like this."

"To feel wanted. Understood." Haku added, smiling.

"To feel home." Naruto finished, and wiped at his eyes with his hands. "I told myself I wouldn't cry."

"So?" Haku said, shrugging. "I cry. Gaara does too."

"Uh, no." Naruto chuckled. "He doesn't, really. Do you?" He turned to look at Gaara.

"More than once, a long time ago." Gaara said, and smirked, as Haku and Naruto began to laugh.

Hours ticked by, and Haku prepared them some sandwiches as snacks. A few hours till midnight left and they'd be getting ready to leave. Naruto played soft music on the deck and leaned against the chair, staring at the ceiling, waiting. It was the high pitch sound of a nin-whistle being blown that alerted all three, and made Haku peer out the window.

"A summoning?" Haku questioned.

"Something must have turned up." Gaara answered, grabbing his jounin turtleneck while tossing Naruto his vest. "We should go."

Haku picked up his vest and all three of them vanished, approaching the gathering point.

XXX

Naruto stared wide eyed at the open village gates, where ANBU and Hunters along with other available high level jounins were assembled, all looking out a the army of Akatsuki members, the front line holding the forty-eight kidnapped children, a kunai held at their throats.

"No illusion." Neji confirmed. "They're all real."

"Damn!" Tsunade cursed, staring at the small army of two hundred, clad in black and red cloaks. "What is you want of us, Akatsuki?" She asked, stepping forward from her own army of Leaf Shinobis.

Naruto felt his heart quicken, paling as he watched someone step forward, long dark hair blowing in the wind, cold dark eyes narrowed at Tsunade. Just as fear came, anger popped, making his blood boil and his fists clench, as he stared at the figure.

"Itachi." Kakashi whispered from the corner lines of the assembled shinobis, pulling up his forehead protector and exposing his Sharingan eye, unease and outrage evident in his voice.

"He's still with them." Gai hissed, narrowing his dark brows.

Sasuke was seething with hatred.

"We will release the children, safely, unharmed, in exchange for Uzumaki Naruto." He said, voice calm and collected, as if one was requesting information at a help desk. There were simultaneous shuffling of feet as the announcement was made. "Give him to us, and they go unharmed.

"And If I disagree –" Tsunade was cut off by Naruto's hand landing on her shoulder sharply.

"You won't." He said, shaking his head. Jiraiya turned to look at him, surprised. "I'm going."

"You cannot possibly-" Tsunade was cut off again.

"I'm sorry. There is no other way." Naruto looked up at Jiraiya and blinked, before dropping his gaze to turn to look at Gaara and Haku. He grabbed them both, embraced them tight, and whispered. "Wait for the signal." He pulled his necklace off and handed it to Gaara. "Kakashi."

Then he released them, and began to walk towards the Akatsuki army, protests and callings from his previous teammates and friends, and lover ignored. Each step was tearing at him inside, but he kept his head high, as he approached the gates, and took the final step to render him 'outside Konoha land'.

Hands clamped on his shoulders, as he was guided to the back of the army, the loud cries of relief from children and running footsteps the only thing he could hear, as he was taken further and further from Konoha.

From home.

From safety.

From sanity.

TBC

Oops?


	16. Chapter 16

**_SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY_**

bows to readers I have finally managed to get this done! I am SO happy that I got THIS done! I haven't forgotten about this! I just dodged a BIG block is all.

I got an email from _Kodoku na Kunoichi_ that requested I write a friendship thingie for Gai and Kakashi. So I gave it a shot here, to see if I can pull it off etc. So, umm, here I guess! Hope it's ok though. Maybe in the future I can do a little drabble on them or something.

Thank you for being TOO patient. Damn, I feel unworthy of such attention whimper

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 16**

Naruto was terrified, afraid and yet somewhat assured. But the feeling of assurance he had was but a tiny flutter at the back of his gut while fear squashed everything else. He cast a glance around the walking army of black and red, doing a brief estimate of how many shinobis Akatsuki had. Naruto knew that the organization had more – probably waiting in their base – and that the ones around him were what he'd like to call _the appetizer._ If the thousands around him were _the appetizer_, Naruto shuddered at what _the main course_ would be.

"Move faster." Someone called from the back. Naruto guessed it must some second-in-command shinobi. He looked around for Itachi and didn't spot him.

They picked up the pace, light feet sweeping across grass blades and forest soil, not a sound being heard. Some moved through the trees' branches, some chose to move by ground. Naruto wasn't one to complain because he doubted that even with the skills he possessed, he wouldn't last five minutes if he decided to fight. A silent prayer ran through Naruto's mind, as the speed of his heartbeat increased. The army stopped briefly, orders of dispatching groups of five to scout for traps and tailing ninjas were given out. While several moved away from the group, Naruto was still dismayed by the fact that there were still a few thousands left behind.

"On your knees, brat!" The Akatsuki-nin gripping his one shoulder ordered. Naruto rolled his eyes and was about to grumble a curse when the other nin kicked the back of his knees.

"Shit." Naruto hissed, throwing a glare back at the nin who kicked him. He mentally marked the face – low ponytail, large scar running across his lower jaw and gray eyes. "Once I'm out of here, I'm going to break your legs."

"I'd like to see you try." The nin said, grabbing his hair.

"Naruto-kun." Naruto's face was jerked towards the speaker by the nin holding his hair. "You fell."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "The only person who fell around here is you, you asshole." Itachi quirked an amused eyebrow at that, while the nin gripping Naruto's hair pulled harder, making Naruto wince.

"Did I?" Itachi asked, sounding faintly amused. Kisame appeared a few seconds to look down at Naruto.

"Still tiny." Kisame said, grinning.

"Could you sink any lower?" Naruto asked, glaring as much as he can at Itachi. The task was difficult when you have a pissed-off and egoistic Akatsuki-nin gripping one's hair. "No, you had to go get the kids." Naruto winced as his head was jerked back and forth violently. "You just can't resist it can't you? You sick, twisted fucktard!"

"You talk too much For someone in your current standing." Kisame growled and that was the last thing Naruto heard before everything went black.

XXX

As soon as the Akatsuki army disappeared from view, Jiraiya signaled for the guards to close the gates. The resounding bang of the metal gates seemed to have jerked the Konoha nins from their stupor. Tsunade gave out orders immediately to all ANBU and Hunter units to be on guard. All Chuunins were ordered to be on red alert while a group of Jounins were dispatched to the Sand Village to give the Kazekage the warnings. From that point, the Kazekage will take care of warning other villages.

"Take double shifts. All women and children are to immediately retreat to the safety units in the mountains if a fight is to break out." Tsunade said, opting to use the word _fight_ instead of _war._ She didn't want the villagers to be already nervous than they already are. "Shikamaru, Neji, you two will come with me and Jiraiya to strategize. The rest of you, move!"

There was a whoosh of movements and the entire lot in front of the gates was empty. The only ones who remained behind were Gaara, Haku, Kakashi and Sasuke. The rest, while doubtful and wanting to question the Hokage's orders (particularly the remaining rookie nine, their instructors and Iruka), left to stand their posts.

"You're not going to go after him?" Sasuke asked, sounding the question everybody wanted an answer to.

"No." Tsunade said.

"_Why?_" Sasuke demanded, fist shaking. "You of all people –"

"Don't tell me what to do, you brat." Tsunade hissed warningly.

"Put a little faith in Naruto. He's not as _helpless _as _you_ think." Jiraiya said.

"Put a little faith him?" Sasuke asked, sounding astounded and sarcastic at the same time. "How the _fuck_ can I put a little faith in him when he's with _him?_ Them! And you _dare_ talk about putting a little faith?"

"Sasuke." Jiraiya warned.

"The fuck is the matter with you people?" Sasuke shouted.

"I agree." Neji said, boldly stepping forward. "The chances of Naruto surviving with that kind of enemy holding him in prison are next to nothing."

"Naruto." Haku said, flicking a glance at everyone, his brown gaze lingering the longest at Kakashi who was too quiet. "Wouldn't want anything happening to anyone. Like Jiraiya-san said, put a little faith in him."

Sasuke's Sharingan flared from the boiling anger inside him. "If you, the both of you, really did give shit for Naruto's safety, you wouldn't even be standing here!" Neji seemed to agree with what Sasuke said, and Kakashi actually turned his head to throw the two Hunters a dark look.

"If you knew Naruto half as much as must as the both of us knew him, you wouldn't be even speaking that way." Haku replied back, a killing intent burning within the polite looking young man. "The thing is, you don't. Because Naruto left you behind a long time ago." Sasuke gritted his teeth. "And it must be killing you. Isn't it?"

Sasuke immediately lunged for Haku's throat, tempter getting the best of him, but Kakashi held him back. "Stop it Sasuke. This is not the best time."

Tsunade rubbed her temple, while Jiraiya sighed. The other spectators were astonished to Haku's bold words but decided not to comment anymore. "All of you will comply with the orders I've given you or so help me I will personally put you to sleep and you wouldn't know what hit you." Tsunade gritted out, having enough of the childish verbal fights. "Last thing I want is a shinobi running off on his or her own. Am I understood?" There was a whispered chorus of affirmation. "Now get moving!" Tsunade snapped and immediately everyone left.

Before Kakashi could even vanish, Gaara gripped his wrist. "I need to talk to you." Kakashi stared at the redhead briefly before nodding and following him, Haku behind them. They settled on the roof of Naruto's apartment building, looking out in to the night. Kakashi made himself comfortable on one of the concrete brick edges, waiting for Gaara or Haku to speak. "Here." Gaara said, handing Kakashi Naruto's necklace and ring.

Kakashi stared at it silently for a long time before lifting his head up in question. "Why?"

Gaara looked at him emotionlessly. "He told me to give it to you." Gaara leaned against the edge, crossing his arms. "Before he left with them."

"I see." Kakashi stared at it for a while, watching the sharp edges of the green stone glint under the light. He then turned to study the ring carefully. It was definitely the Yondaime's ring. "Why did he leave it?"

Gaara flicked a brief glance at Haku who was also leaning against the concrete edges. "Because we're about to go into one big war and that the chances of him surviving is, like Neji said earlier, next to nothing."

At those words, Kakashi stiffened. Haku gave him a sad look. "Many are going to die. That's reality. And Naruto would do anything to keep the village safe."

Kakashi wrapped his fingers around the pendant and ring. "I see."

Gaara half-heartedly smirked. "He just gave you one of the biggest parts of himself. You do realize that, don't you?" Kakashi blinked but shrugged a bit in reply.

"It's a silent way of saying that he loves you." Haku said, smiling at Kakashi, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Understand now?" Kakashi tightened his grip around the pendant and nodded silently. "Like I said earlier, Naruto might die. You might die. We all might. It's a probability. But if we survive, if you and Naruto survives, it would be nice, right?"

Kakashi's eyes glazed a bit. "Yes. It would."

"Believe in him." Gaara said. "That's what we do." Gaara gestured to himself and Haku. "It's what Naruto would've wanted."

Silence fell upon the three, until Kakashi cleared his throat. "How do we know what we're looking for?"

Gaara and Haku exchanged look. "You remember how Naruto was always flashy with his moves?" Haku asked.

"Yes." Kakashi nodded, for a moment dreading the next few words that the two might give him.

Haku's eyes crinkled in to a smile. "Well, let's just say that he hasn't lost _that_ part of him yet."

Kakashi blinked. "Huh?"

Gaara tilted his head back and stared at the sky. "Something big, flashy and loud. Once you see that, then we'll all move." Kakashi got somewhat reassuring feeling, but still somehow worried. "Maybe something like fire."

XXX

Naruto groaned a bit. He could feel his head swim even with his eyes still closed. He was lying on his back on a cold stone floor that did not even feel smooth. Naruto could feel the tiny sharp stony edges digging in to his back. Only then did he realize that his captors must have taken his shirt away. Naruto groaned some more and cracked his eyes open, turning his head to one side. Light was illuminating from the ceiling in harsh white color, like hospital lights. Naruto made out faint red outlines on the walls he was blearily staring at. He focused his vision and noticed it to be a large splatter of blood.

"Oh shit!" Naruto gasped, immediately sitting up only to be brought back down by the sudden stand due to the chains around his ankles and wrists. "Fuck!" Naruto hissed, staring at the blood stain. It looked fresh and judging by the way it was fanned out on the wall, someone must've slammed the person's head against the wall powerful enough to crack the skull. Naruto figured it was blood from the head because only a skull is easier to smash and release that much blood compared to the spinal chord or any other body areas without the use of a sharp object. Naruto moved away from the wall as much as he could. Other than the fact that he was shirtless, Naruto noticed the tiredness and heaviness of his limbs, like all his energy was taken away while he was knocked out.

"So you're awake." Kisame emerged from the dark corners of the room, his _samehada_ strapped to his back.

Naruto couldn't stop the sarcasm from lacing his words and attitude. He was so pissed. "Congratulations. You're not stupid."

Kisame shrugged. "I'm surprised you can still be immature even when you're already half dead." Naruto rolled his eyes in reply. That was the wrong action because Kisame had backhanded him across the face so hard that the skin broke and his lips cracked and bled.

"Hold back, Kisame." Itachi spoke, stepping forward. "Behave, Naruto-kun."

Naruto spat blood on the ground angrily. "Like fuck I should listen to you. They were right about you. You are full of shit." This time, Naruto didn't receive a backhand across the face. He was kicked in the gut, sending him on his side curled and coughing. "You know, I always wondered." Naruto sad in between coughs. "If Sasuke carried all the jerk-genes but I guess I was wrong. Does it run in your family? You know, being a bastard?" Naruto pushed himself up a bit to straighten up and look dignified, even if he was chained and already bleeding. "Because I would have loved to know, if you didn't wipe out your entire clan."

If Itachi was disturbed or angered by the question, he didn't show. "Tell me what you know about your seal, Naruto-kun."

"Let's see." Naruto feigned thought then glared. "How about, no?" Kisame moved forward and kicked both of Naruto's side then landed a heal-jab on Naruto's cheek. There was a sickening crack and grunt from Naruto who landed on side blinking bright lights away. Naruto groaned and cried when Kisame landed several other brutal kicks on his leg area and back. It was quite surprising that Naruto's bones didn't snap yet. "Oh god." Naruto gasped, wincing.

"The seal Naruto-kun." Itachi repeated.

"Hey." Naruto hissed, slowly trying to get to a kneeling position. "Even if I knew, what the hell makes you think I'd tell you? Don't you do your math good? I was a newborn when I got it, dumbass. No one's told me anything about it ever since too."

Kisame was about to land another painful blow but Itachi's held the aiming fist back. "Nothing at all?"

"Which part of newborn and nobody do you not get?" Naruto grumbled, rubbing his side.

Itachi smirked, crouched in front of Naruto and spoke calmly. "You're seal is made to both protect you and absorb the Kyuubi's powers." Naruto knew that but kept his mouth shut. "The seal is divided in to two parts. I've learned how to unseal it and still control Kyuubi" Itachi smirked while Naruto swallowed. Itachi noticed the reaction and leaned closer to Naruto's ear. "And when I have the Kyuubi, I'll let you watch your love ones die. Starting with Kakashi-san." Naruto's pupils dilated with fear just as his lips parted in a silent gasp.

Itachi waved his hand and Kisame banged a fist against the door. It burst open and several other Akatsukis walked in. Naruto was injected with a large syringe filled with an opaque yellow liquid on his side, right under the bruise that was forming from Kisame's earlier kicks. Naruto winced as the long needle sank in to his flesh, seeing yet not _seeing_ the liquid pump in to him. Naruto's vision was going hazy as whatever drug he was injected with started coursing through his veins.

_I know you're there, listen up. _

The nins around him began to strap nodes all over Naruto's body, hooking it to various monitors that showed breathing, heart and charka levels and changes. Intravenous tubes were attached to Naruto's arm while one went to somewhere around his waist region, Naruto wasn't sure.

_If ever, I need your powers the most now. Please. _

"You won't feel anything." Itachi said, coming to stand next to Naruto's left side by his head. Itachi raised a hand and Naruto could make out the faint glows of blue charka that would unseal the seal on his stomach.

Naruto stared at Itachi for a long time, eyes glazing from the drugs, lids slowly dropping close, the only thing preventing it from closing was sheer willpower. Naruto noted that Sasuke and Itachi looked a lot like each other, especially the eyes and nose. Naruto mused that even their foreheads looks similar. As Itachi slowly lowered his hand towards Naruto's stomach, Naruto briefly wondered that if things were different, would Itachi made a good friend? Or some sort of elder brother, like the way he thought of Sasuke as his brother.

"Sasuke," Naruto said, making Itachi's hand stop inches away from his stomach to look at him. "Doesn't hate you. Not like he thinks he says." Itachi blinked at those words, the charka in his hand, for a brief mili-second, faltering in its flow. "How would things be if they were different?"

Itachi's eyes burned red, just as he lowered his hand. "Too bad you never will know."

Naruto drew his brows and shut his eyes as Itachi pressed the seal-release jutsu on to his stomach. Naruto felt a tug growing inside him and then like a rush of a river, something just flowed wildly.

_KYUUBI!_

Chakra sizzled in the air as Itachi continued to apply a steady flowing amount towards the seal. Several of the gathered nins around the stretcher stepped back as the sizzling intensified. Itachi narrowed his eyes, briefly glancing at Naruto who had his eyes shut in a drug-induced sleep. Just as Itachi poured the last dose of charka to open the seal, the blue glow around his hands suddenly turned red.

"What the –" Kisame grumbled as everyone watched closely.

Kisame didn't even had the time to complete his question for a large charka explosion pushed the gathered Akatsukis against the walls of the cell. A chorus of cries were heard followed by resounding thuds of backs hitting the walls. Kisame had pulled out his _samehada_, ready to fight whatever force that was cracking in the air, loud snapping whips resounding within the cell walls, chipping off concrete from the ground. Itachi who had caught himself just in time before he slammed against the wall like the others, stared as the red glow illuminating and swirling from Naruto's stomach filled the small cell. The charka pulsed violently, hotly and intensely for a few seconds before it burst loudly like a bomb explosion. The force overwhelmed everyone for they barely had time to react as the walls were destroyed and everyone was flung in random directions. Itachi managed to flip midair and land on a crouch on a fallen piece of debris as dust and soot particles drifted down the air from the impact of the explosion.

Itachi glanced up to find a gigantic fiery figure of what he could almost make out to be a body of Naruto himself. It roared just like a burning flame, the head titling up towards the sky like a wolf calling its pack. Itachi could have sworn, as he stared dumbfounded and completely caught off guard, that the figure could even pass as the Fourth himself.

Almost.

In the midst of all the chaos, Naruto stood, blue eyes a smoldering red with demonic slits, a smile on his face. All around Naruto, Akatsuki nins poured from every corner of the head quarters' area, poised and ready to do battle. There was a simultaneous clash of weapons and several choruses of jutsus as Itachi finally managed to break his gaze from Naruto's standing figure. From the forest areas, shinobi groups, ANBU and hunters poured on to the thousands of alert Akatsuki nins. Itachi turned his head back to Naruto's direction, once again overwhelmed just as Naruto's smile grew wider and was joined by two Hunters.

"You fell." Naruto mouthed and vanished in a swirl of smoke with his two companions, leaving behind the glowing entity that continued to become a signal for all shinobis across the country.

XXX

Gaara and Haku felt more than saw the growing and pulsing chakra miles away along with the other nins in Konoha. Once they were dispatched by Tsunade a few minutes later, Haku bade Kakashi to take care of himself as they all parted ways. "Are you all right?" Haku asked, holding on to a tired looking Naruto.

"I'm fine." Naruto panted. "Just drained." Naruto said, holding on to Gaara and Haku as the two carried him away from the chaotic battlefield. They stopped by a tree, a good distance away, while Haku did a routine check on Naruto.

"Your healing isn't as fast." Haku said.

"The seal is unstable." Naruto replied.

"Here." Gaara said, handing him a soldier pill. "It should help for now."

Naruto winced and placed a hand on his stomach. The seal looked different now. The kanji letters around the swirl was gone. Naruto could feel a slight tug inside him, like something warm and cold clashing at the same time. From a distance, he saw Gamabunta towering over the trees. Naruto could hear the multiple chorus of fire and earth element jutsus. For a brief second, he thought he saw Chouji and his dad in their multi-size jutsu forms. There were loud angry barks of dogs and there seemed to be a heavy shifting of shadows around the area. Naruto couldn't help but smile in fondness for his village as to how they were working together.

"Are you all right?" Haku asked. "Reinforcements are coming from Sand and other villages. They too want their traitors caught."

"That's good." Naruto grinned, despite the great pain his body was going through. "That's really –" He stopped as he heard the cries of a thousand birds. "Sasuke is here?" Haku and Gaara exchanged looks and nodded.

"Kakashi too." Gaara added.

Naruto's face seemed to change. "He's going to get himself killed." Naruto mumbled and quickly changed in to his hunter outfit that Gaara brought. Mask on his face, Naruto got to his feet and pulled out his twin swords. "Let's go.

XXX

The smell of blood was thick in the air. Naruto dodged the kunai lunged at him by Akatsuki nins, did a flip in the air and quickly channeled whatever that was left of his charka to release a _Katon_ based jutsu. A loud crash and tumble of trees several meters behind made Naruto turn briefly to find Gaara standing on top of a sand-badger in its ultimate shield form. The sound of shattering glass made Naruto turn south from his position to find towers of ice giving off cold mist crumbling to tiny shards, silhouettes of figures trapped within the ice shattering. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine. He witnessed that jutsu in one of the missions where Haku had to hold back a fleet of s-ranked criminals. It was not a merciful death.

Naruto did several hand seals, fixed his hand on the seal of the dog and gave out his command. _"Phoenix wings no Jutsu!" _

The fiery figure that was released from the seal spread its arms, as wings like shapes began to protrude from its back. It faced a battalion of Akatsukis, ascended in the air and flapped its wings once.

What was left of the battalion and the field around them were nothing more than charred ashes.

XXX

Kakashi sank on one knee, a hand coming up to his Sharingan eye just as the loud explosion of the fiery burning entity released a very hot and powerful jutsu. Kakashi felt a smile reach his lips as he remembered Gaara and Haku's words. "Naruto." Kakashi winced yet again and coughed. The battle could not have been longer than one hour and he was exhausted beyond his wits. He barely managed to block the barrage of shurikens coming towards him. Four managed to imaple him on his shoulders. The Sharingan was wearing him down by the minute. Kakashi caught sight of two cloaked Akatasukis, faces he recognized from his earlier years in ANBU, with short swords in hand. Kakashi braced himself, prepared to summon for his largest nin-dog and take the stab, when –

"_Dynamic entry!" _

"Gai!" Kakashi said gratefully, just as the two charging nins tumbled back, necks broken by Gai's powerful double legged kick. Gai turned, the suit material on his forearm, shoulder and knee area torn. The green beast of Konoha had blood stains all over his flak jacket and a bruising cheek. Even then, nothing can make the good guy pose and toothy smile loose its shining touch. Kakashi could not have been more grateful for Gai's arrival.

Gai merely laughed and helped Kakashi to his feet. "Pull yourself together. We got our help!"

"Sand came?" Kakashi blinked, and winced. His hand came up to the left side of his face.

"And Cloud." Gai dug out something from his soiled nin-back-pouch and handed Kakashi a soldier pill. "I will take you towards the border of the battlefield. You're exhausted. Shizune can help." Gai gave Kakashi support by holding him from his waist and hoisting one of the copy-nin's arms around his green clad neck.

"_Aa."_ Kakashi nodded, for Gai understood how much the Sharingan wears him down. It was his strongest and weakest asset – a double edged blade one would say. Kakashi gave a sharp whistle as all of his nin-dogs appeared before him and his comrade-rival. "Cover us."

The dogs gave a sharp bark and turned on their paws to face the on coming enemy while Gai and Kakashi made their way towards the border of the battlefield.

XXX

Gaara jumped down his summoned sand badger and made his way across the field to where Naruto was standing. Haku met him half way while pulling a kunai off his forearm. No words were exchanged as they arrived to Naruto's standing spot, where the blonde was on his knees, holding his stomach to where the seal was located.

"Naruto!" Haku knelt beside him and pulled the mask off. Naruto didn't look injured, save for a few minor scratches and bruises that were unavoidable in their current position, but he looked too pale. The broken seal was taking its toll on him and his hold on the fiery entity was quickly wearing him down. Shaking breaths were escaping the now pale lips. Haku steadied Naruto and performed a basic healing jutsu that will restore a few percent of Naruto's energy. Although it was backlash on the jutsu caster, Haku didn't care. "Hold on, I'll –"

A crash and tumble made the three hunters turn. Sasuke came rolling back several meters, the ANBU mask shattered and his face bruised and bloodied that it was difficult to recognize him. Lee followed a good few seconds later, just as Sasuke came to stop from his back roll. Naruto gaped, for a moment forgetting about his exposed identity, as Itachi emerged from the opposite direction.

Lee managed to get on his feet and stand in front of Sasuke to block Itachi, determination in the young man's eyes. But he was already worn out, so a few seconds of taijutsu exchange sent Lee to one corner, knocked out. Itachi didn't look too good himself. His Sharingan was on, but flickering from black to red due to exhaustion. Itachi could have retreated if the entire battle field wasn't being kept closed by nins from other villages. Itachi did not look very happy. Somehow, it seemed that Sasuke managed to slice a sleeve off his cloak and give the older Uchiha a few small scratches. It accounted as nothing considering how powerful Itachi is.

Sasuke got around after hitting his head hard on the back of a tree bark and blinked dazed dark eyes up at Itachi's figure. Said eyes widened as Itachi grabbed him from strap of his ANBU flak jacket and kneed him hard on the stomach before pinning him against the tree.

"Still weak, foolish little brother." Itachi hissed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, making Sasuke snap his eyes open and kick the elder Uchiha on the thighs, before landing a punch across Itachi's face. Sasuke sank down the bark as sand quickly snaked under the ANBU's feet and held him up right, steadying him. Haku wasted no time and quickly performed hand seals that sent sharp spikes of ice from the ground chasing Itachi. Itachi leapt back, dodging them before one of his feet managed to get caught in the ice. On normal occasions, Itachi could have easily gotten rid of the simple jutsu, but the previous battles and fending off had worn him down.

"Gotcha!" Haku slapped his palms in to a different seal and sent the ice crawling up Itachi's calf to hold him place.

Itachi's Sharingan flared brightly as he did a flame seal and spat black fire at the ice. Gaara quickly raised his sand to shield Sasuke. Gaara left Haku and Naruto and quickly charged from behind Itachi, ready to crush him with his sand. But even sand couldn't escape the blazing heat of _Amaterasu_. Gaara was knocked back, sand burnt to nothing but floating wisps of black. Gaara landed next to Lee, the back of his head bleeding as it hit the tree bark.

"Go!" Naruto ordered Haku, who left him and quickly fended off Itachi with all the skills he had. Sasuke panted as he struggled to get on his feet, maskless and barely able to breathe properly. Haku attempted to pierce Itachi with his senbon needles, only to find them mirrored back to him as Itachi trapped Haku within the power of his illusion Haku sank to the ground like a rag doll, unmoving. Sasuke groped for his sword, wanting to stab his older brother dead. In his blind search for his sword, he failed to notice Itachi come up to him with a short blade in his bleeding hand that he aimed for Sasuke's shoulder to pin him on the tree bark.

Naruto cast his jutsu quickly, using the _Time Warp_ that his father left him to disappear in a yellow flash and appear just mere seconds in front of Sasuke. Itachi's blade continued its course, as Naruto shielded Sasuke. The blade made a sickening squishing noise as it went right through Naruto in the middle of his chest. Blood gushed down, as Naruto narrowed dark blue eyes at Itachi's surprised blazing red ones. The Kyuubi vessel grasped the short sword by its blade and the wielder's hand, holding them in place, to prevent it from going further in and touching Sasuke.

"How can you?" Naruto asked, as blood trickled down his lips and landed on his bloody chest.

Sasuke grabbed one of the swords strapped around Naruto's waist and pulled it. The sword gleamed silver and red as Sasuke gave out a loud and angry cry of hatred, sadness and years of suffering and pushed the blade through Itachi's throat. Three bodies remained standing before Itachi managed a proud and bitter smile cross his blood drenched lips. It was like the older Uchiha was saying, 'You did it. I'm proud of you' to his younger sibling. Sasuke pulled the blade out while Itachi made a gurgling noise. The smile on the older Uchiha's face widened a millimeter, as Sasuke's Sharingan blazed a darker red, jagged lines appearing within the three copy wheels, the sign of acquiring _Mangekyou Sharingan_. Naruto let go of Itachi's hand as the S-ranked Uchiha fell back with a thud against the grassy and bloody ground, eyes hazing a dark shade and began to stare at the sky – dead.

The illusion cast on Haku winked out, as the Hunter coughed and sat up slowly.

Naruto sank on his knees, short blade still jutting out of his chest. Naruto pulled the blade out and threw it angrily to one side. The fiery entity disappeared like a candle blowing as Naruto collapsed on his side, blood pooling around him. Sasuke managed to retain some of his senses as his Sharingan flickered out.

"Naruto!" The Uchiha cried, sinking on his knees and cradling the fallen blonde's figure. "Oi! Naruto!"

Naruto stared up at him, blue eyes shimmering. "You've accomplished you – you're –"

"Shut up, _dobe!_" Sasuke hissed, eyes shimmering with fearful tears that he pulling back. "You didn't have to! I _never asked for your help!"_

Naruto felt himself smile up at Sasuke, eyes crinkling on the sides. "I don't know what happened." Naruto gasped out. He remembered that time in the hidden Mist village. "My body just moved on its own." The seal on Naruto's stomach glowed a fiery red, as Naruto closed his eyes. "You still have one more thing to do." Naruto whispered. "Right?"

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, shaking Naruto a bit to keep the blonde awake. Just as the seal ceased its glowing, Naruto fell unconscious, the rise and fall of his chest slowing down. Sasuke's senses heightened as footsteps approached them. He looked up to find more Akatsuki nins ready to slaughter them, just as Gaara came around and lifted the sand on the ground to shield all of them. Footsteps rang out behind Sasuke and he turned to find Kankuro leading a group of Sand nins.

"Get your butt off the ground and get the hell out of here!" Kankuro snapped at Gaara.

Gaara smirked and lowered his sand, allowing his elder sibling and his little army of twenty charge forward and keep the Akatsukis at bay. Gaara performed a basic healing hand seal and revived Lee. Haku got to his feet and came beside Sasuke and Naruto. "This is bad." Haku whispered, analyzing Naruto's wound. "We must go back to Konoha."

Sasuke nodded, but he himself couldn't stand. Sasuke's femur bone was broken from Itachi's earlier taijutsu beating. Gaara approached Naruto and lifted him up in his arms. Lee, who was partially fit to move on his own, helped Haku hoist Sasuke up.

"Let's go. Kankuro will cover our backs." Gaara said.

As fast their injured legs could carry them, the three carried their charges towards Konoha's safety.

XXX

When the fiery entity winked out, Tsunade had stiffened while in the middle of healing. Chuunins reporting in from the battlefield came with news every fifteen minutes to say that the Akatsuki numbers have been dropping and victory was assured for their side. She attended to her patients that kept pouring in to the hospital like bees to honey. Blood stained the floors along with muddy footprints. The waiting lounge was filled with groaning and pained Leaf, Cloud and Sand nins, while medics attended to their injuries.

"Get me more morphine!" Tsunade barked, as a nurse hurried off to fetch more medicines from the stock.

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade turned to find Gai supporting an already half-awake Kakashi with the help of Iruka who was helping out in attending to the injured. "He's not –" Iruka was cut off.

"Bring him here!" Tsunade brushed past a nurse holding a jar of medicinal cream and climbed a flight of stairs to the first floor. She pushed open a door and pulled back the curtains to one of the beds. "Put him here!" She said, as Iruka and Gai laid Kakashi on sterile white bed. Tsunade quickly performed her hand seals and held her green-glowing hand above Kakashi's forehead. Kakashi's eyes began to haze as the healing jutsu took its course in healing the pain induced by the Sharingan.

Iruka made Gai sit on the chair as he began to attend to the Jounin's cuts and injuries, bandaging them like all shinobis were taught. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Gai said gratefully.

Iruka was about to reply when the door burst open. Lee was standing by the door panting, green suit ripped in many places and bleeding. "H-Hokage-sama!"

"Lee!" Gai gaped, a pained expression coming to his face at the sight of his student.

"It's Naruto!" Lee side stepped just as Gaara came in carrying a _very_ bloodied blonde figure.

Tsunade finished her jutsu on Kakashi and pulled back the curtains on the bed next to the copy-nin. She ordered Gaara to set Naruto on the bed, the sheets quickly drenching a crimson shade as the pale figure sank in to its sterile confines. Iruka stared, utterly shocked, eyes full of fear. Kakashi managed to turn his head and catch sight of Naruto's pale and bloodied face as the curtain around Naruto's bed were pulled shut by Tsunade.

"Gaara, take all of them outside. Transfer Kakashi to the next room! Lee, find me Sakura and Shizune and any free medic available! Haku, I need you to help me channel chakra through Naruto's body. Lee, what the hell are you waiting for? _Move!" _Tsunade barked.

Gaara moved around the curtain and lifted Kakashi with the help of his sand, carrying him out of the room. Iruka helped Gai up before leaving him in the next room with Kakashi to find medics. If Tsunade was that nervous, then Naruto's condition must be bad.

Kakashi could hear equipments and things being moved in the next room, his heart hammering against his chest. Hours ticked and still there were frantic shouts from the next room. It was only when Haku was wheeled in a wheelchair to the same room as Kakashi did the copy nin voice his fear out.

"Naruto?" He asked.

Haku looked tired, pale and too worn out. No amount of soldier pills could help the hunter stay more awake. "Ho-Hokage-sama is trying – to – to save him."

Kakashi felt his insides just stop functioning, the screaming orders from the other room engulfing him.

XXX

Cloud and Sand medics came to Konoha to assist all injured nins. They took their own nins and transported them when the patients were fit for it to their own village to recuperate. Medical supplies were brought in by several villages and help for the injured were provided.

Akatsuki was finally wiped out. Reports stated that some got away, but in very small numbers. Even then, those who did manage to flee battle were not fit enough to survive the environment of the battlefield. Hunter units from the Rock village were sent to scavenge for any live Akatsuki and eliminate any of the remaining members of the organization.

Chuunins that were left behind in Konoha for security purposes were now helping at the hospital. Shinobis that belonged to clans were sent back to their own homes with medical experts and attention due to the lack of space in the hospital. Those who didn't belong to clans and fell in to the category of male and female bachelors were distributed to the clinics all over Konoha for medical attention. Genins who were available were sent to clean up the battle field along with other Chuunins led by Sand's Jounin instructors.

Twenty four hours later, majority of the dead were sorted and were being prepared by volunteered citizens for burial. Sakura, Ino and Hinata were sent home after long hours at the hospital, pale and tired. The shinobi village managed to stabilize the amount of injured people when day light crept up the horizon a day after the large short-noticed war.

Tsunade came out of the room she was in, wiping her hands on a towel as she headed for the next room to check up on Sasuke. Nurses were sent to prepare a recovery room in the penthouse floor of Konoha's hospital building to set up a more sterile environment along with the medical equipments so that Naruto's body can be transferred. Haku had recovered a bit after a few hours of sleep and attended to Gaara's injuries.

Tsunade inspected Sasuke's body, used whatever that was left of her charka to heal the Sharingan induced stress and injury before ordering the boy to be transferred to the recovery room. Sakura and Shizune had taken care of healing the boy's broken bones and putting them in a cast. All the Uchiha needed now was a long rest.

Jiraiya hobbled in to the hospital and found Tsunade staring out the window towards the direction of the battlefield which was slowly being regrown and cleaned up by many shinobis. Jiraiya did not look very clean from the fight and sported injuries. The silver haired sannin was shirtless, his torso wrapped in bandages and hair pulled back tight. There were bruises on Jiraiya's limbs, but nothing that wouldn't heal. "It's over." Jiraiya said, and Tsunade could only give him a relieved sigh. "N-Naruto?"

Tsunade turned to face Jiraiya, a worried and sad look on her worn and beautiful face. "I tried."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "W-What?"

Tsunade smiled sadly. "It's up to him now."

Jiraiya moved forward as fast as he could, catching Tsunade before the lady hit the floor. Hours of healing has finally taken its toll on the older woman.

XXX

Naruto lay on the sterile bed prepared for him; his was body cleaned in the best manner one could with a heavily injured person. A lot of IV needles and gadgets were strapped to the pale body, his chest rising and falling very slowly. The healing abilities Naruto possessed were surfacing very slowly as days passed. The minor cuts and little bruises on his body took almost two weeks to heal with the help of Kyuubi's energy. Everyday, Gaara would come in after his duties to the village and its citizens in helping them get back to their feet to channel charka through Naruto's body to speed up his recovery. Even then, it was taking _too_ long. Tsuande was starting to have her doubts.

Haku spent most of his time helping the village and Tsunade's patients. The Hunter barely had time to drop by Naruto's room and help him heal for even if he wanted to, he couldn't due to the lack of functioning shinobi to help Konoha get back to its feet.

Temari announced her resignation as Kazekage once the Sand village and their shinobis were stabilized and in the process of healing from the battle injuries a good month later. Bit by bit, villages involved in the war were getting to their feet, and yet Naruto slept, oblivious.

Kakashi remained bed ridden for three more days with continuous drug injection to the point that his arm was red and swelling from the needles. On the fourth day, Kakashi was discharged and given one day's rest before being sent on missions to uphold the village's standing – despite the fact that he didn't want to leave the village yet, especially Naruto's side. Sasuke went through rehab a three weeks later after battle with Haku as his instructor. To say that the Uchiha was stubborn was an understatement.

Still, Naruto slept on.

"I'm loosing hope." Tsunade said, one evening while in her office, a month after the battle. "He's not showing signs of waking up."

"Naruto is stubborn." Jiraiya said. "Remember what he said? He's not going to die without becoming the Hokage first."

But even Jiraiya was having difficulties in believing his own words.

XXX

Gaara was surprised one evening to find Temari knocking on Naruto's apartment door, weary from travel. "Gaara." Temari greeted. The older woman was not wearing her Kazekage robes but a simple nin-kimono, fan strapped on her back.

"Come in." Gaara offered, letting the woman take a seat on the couch. He went to fetch her some snacks and a cool drink. Haku had not returned yet from his rehab instructing sessions with Sasuke.

"I've resigned my post as Kazekage." Temari said.

"I've been told." Gaara nodded.

"Kankuro is keeping an eye on things." Temari set her cup of tea down.

"You didn't come here just to tell me _that_." Gaara said, blinking.

Temari nodded. "I've decided to let you be the Kazekage of Sand." Gaara blinked, staring. "Will you accept the position, Gaara?"

XXX

Sasuke tripped, hissing as a hand came to grasp his left thigh. A dark curse escaped his lips. It was the second time that evening that he tripped in the middle of his rehab. Haku, as usual, was by his side and quickly applying a numbing jutsu to halt the pain till Sasuke was in a better position to heal it.

Their sessions were always quiet. Only Haku's soft voice when he gave instructions as to how move his leg occasionally sounded in the Uchiha manor. Sasuke, on his part, felt empty, bland and void of anything. He had accomplished what he had aimed for since that massacre and now it was like sinking in an abyss of darkness. No aim, no feeling of victory. The anger had died that moment in the battlefield when his thirst for revenge was quenched. Now, Sasuke felt like a mannequin undergoing rehab and ready to take orders for his village's safety.

"Please straighten your leg slowly, Uchiha-san." Haku instructed, kneeling beside him. Sasuke did as he was told as Haku proceeded to attend to the minor injury. "I think we've done enough tonight. Please rest, Uchiha-san. We will continue our exercise tomorrow." Sasuke only nodded. "Do you need my assistance in helping you up?"

Sasuke scoffed and stood on his feet, swayed and got caught by Haku by his waist. "I didn't ask for your help!" Sasuke snapped.

Haku smiled good naturedly and steadied Sasuke. "But that is my duty at the moment, Uchiha-san. Catch you when you fall." Sasuke stared at Haku quietly, and for some reason, he blushed a light pink at the words. "I know your background from Naruto. You still have many things in front of you worth living for."

Sasuke remembered the time when Kakashi told him years ago that his motivation shouldn't be revenge. How he desperately wished that he listened to Kakashi then. "I've lost my family. Naruto isn't even awake from his sleep and even then, he belongs to Kakashi." He mumbled.

Haku blinked and smile. "He cares for you as a friend." Haku tilted Sasuke chin up from the sitting position he was in. "He loves you like a brother. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken that wound for you." Sasuke felt guilt and overwhelming sadness wash over him. "You should be happy to be alive." Sasuke's eyes hazed as he dipped his head down. "Naruto would have expected you to be on your own feet. He has that much respect for you." Sasuke tightened his hands on his knee caps, shutting his eyes as tears leaked out of the corners. "Don't let him down. Don't let yourself down. You're a good shinobi."

Haku knelt before Sasuke and offered him his own shoulder, as Sasuke cried really hard.

XXX

Kakashi came home from his missions tired and beaten. He let Genma carry the report back as he hobbled his way through town towards his apartment. Changed and cleaned off mission grime, he dropped on his bed, Naruto's necklace falling out of the neckline of his shirt. He stared at it quietly for a moment, as loneliness washed over him.

"Naruto." He whispered, staring at the ring.

The boy did many great things and he was so proud of him. But the growing ache and need to hold the blonde in his arms was getting bigger and bigger. It's been almost three months and counting and still no progress from Naruto's side. Naruto's bruises were mostly gone and for all deities out there, Kakashi was thankful that Naruto was even alive. He even thanked Kyuubi for _keeping_ Naruto alive and if it wasn't for the demon, Naruto wouldn't have survived that chest wound.

The seal still looked stable, as far as Tsunade and Jiraiya were concerned. Out of security, Jiraiya placed two more seals to keep the existing one stable, earning Naruto's stomach a set of new markings. So far, nothing has happened.

Kakashi shifted on his bed, holding a pillow as he stared at the necklace. He will leave in a few hours for another mission the next morning. He prayed, like every night, that the new day coming would bring about a few positive changes in Naruto's condition.

TBC

Debating on Haku/Sasuke relationship.

Debating if I should right another lemony scene for Kakashi/Naruto (and writing one isn't winning).

One more chapter to go. Hard part done. All I have to do now is come up with LOADS of angst and fluff.

Toodles! dodge tomatoes

PS - Pardon for typos/grammar errors. Self-checked, me not good. Pardon! bows


	17. Chapter 17

No rants here. Rant be in the end of this chapter.

Enjoy!

**BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 17**

Gaara felt it like a soft bell ringing in his ears. He was taking care of his transfer papers with Tsunade and Jiraiya. It felt too long for the redhead, but he could see the signs of Naruto's recovery that was day by day getting better and better. While Tsunade was signing his release papers, Gaara blinked as he felt it. In response, he turned to look out that window towards the general direction of Konoha's hospital.

"Gaara?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gaara stood up. "Please excuse me for now, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-san."

None of the remaining sannin asked why nor did they stop him as Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand, black coat fluttering behind him. Gaara appeared in front of the hospital's entrance, just as Sasuke was coming out, hands in his pockets. The Uchiha heir looked better and seemed to move more with ease than before. Gaara remembered Haku mentioning that he had two more sessions of therapy with Sasuke. There was a slight limp in Sasuke's walk, otherwise, he looked pretty much like the stuck up rookie Gaara knew years ago.

Sasuke stopped mid walk to look at Gaara, eyes darkening. "Naruto?"

"Yes." Gaara answered. "You?"

"Same." Sasuke gave a small shrug. "He's still asleep."

Gaara couldn't help but smirk a bit. Sasuke _just_ missed Naruto's waking by a few minutes. Shame. "He'll be up soon." Gaara walked passed Sasuke. "And don't ditch your rehab."

"Ass." Sasuke growled in reply, but smirked as he continued out the hospital gates and head back to his manor.

Gaara spared the entrance desk a glance, the nurses already accustomed to his usual and daily visits as they returned his glance with a bow and a chorus of, 'good afternoon, Gaara-san' along with smiles. Gaara took his time walking down the silent corridors, occasionally passing by a patient walking in those pale colored yukatas. Posters of health hazards decorated the wall, along with pictures of drug abuse and misuse of chakra. To Gaara, it was just a blur of pictures lacking color as he climbed the stairwell and head to the ward where Naruto lay asleep in.

The feeling got more intense as he neared Naruto's door.

Gaara couldn't stop the smile from coming to his lips as he took one last turn and counted four doors before stopping in front of his destination. Pale hands reached for the door knob, pushing it open to find that the curtains were drawn close and that Ino and Sakura had visited earlier for there was a pot of fresh flowers on the side table of Naruto's bed. Gaara also noted how there were new get well soon cards from the genin classes that now look up to Naruto, thanks to Iruka's teaching and tales. Shaking his head, he closed the door behind him and headed straight for the window. He pulled the curtains apart, letting it warm rays of winter sunshine to lighten up the dark room. Gaara stared out at the slightly misty bright setting outside the hospital before turning to look at Naruto. Gaara picked up one of the vase that was on Naruto's side table and placed the daisy filled ones by the window before pulling up a chair and sitting beside the slumbering blonde.

All he had to do now was wait.

XXX

_White._

_Too white._

Eyes opened slowly as his vision cleared. Morning rays were pouring through the window and reflecting on the crystal vase with a bouquet of daisies placed neatly on them. He felt grimy and sticky. He blinked his eyes wider, feeling it slightly water as he focused looking to one spot.

"Welcome back, Naruto."

Naruto turned his head stiffly to find Gaara sitting beside him, no longer wearing his Konoha Jounin garb but a long black coat with a white leather gourd holster strapped around his torso. His hair was now longer and still its vibrant red. There was a smirk on the sand-nin's face, a very soft and happy one.

"You look different." Naruto whispered, clearing his throat from its dryness. Gaara helped Naruto sit up and gave him some water. Naruto settled back on the bed once his throat felt less raw.

"A lot of things happened. But this, by far, is one of the best." Gaara said, reaching out to pat Naruto's rather thin hand.

"How long have I been here?" Naruto asked, staring at the ceiling.

"Almost three months." Gaara replied.

"The others?" Naruto looked worried.

"Sasuke is doing rehab and is in his last few sessions with Haku." Naruto grinned at _that_. "Neji resigned as ANBU, he's now a jounin. Sakura and Hinata left their teaching posts to work as medics. Lee got his old team back and are now doing missions. Shino left ANBU. The teachers are pretty much still the same. Kiba works with Shino mostly." Gaara then provided Naruto with what he wanted to hear. "Kakashi is fine. He's off today since he just got back from an A-rank mission last night."

"That's good." Naruto closed his eyes, tired; he was still recovering after all. His healing abilities have finally kicked in. A few more days of rest and he'd be fine like a reborn young man.

"Temari left her post as Kazekage. I'm taking her place."

Naruto opened his eyes and look at Gaara, before taking the sand nin's hand in his and giving it an affectionate squeeze. Naruto smiled, closed his eyes and continued to hold Gaara's hand. "And you'll be _great._"

Gaara brushed Naruto's greasy hair back and gave the hand holding his an affectionate squeeze back. "I'll call the Hokage."

XXX

Tsunade stared at Naruto, blinked back tears and proceeded to give him a few more healing rounds. "Naruto."

"Baa-chan." Naruto smiled up from his bed.

"You look horrible." Tsunade shook her hair.

"And you look older." Naruto smiled. "And more beautiful."

"Flattering." Tsunade kissed his forehead. "Gaara tells me that you can stand?"

"Yes. I would like to go home." Naruto said. "Maybe lie in the bathtub as well."

Tsunade helped him to his feet and wrapped her arms around the young man. Jiraiya entered the room then and grinned. "Not bad, Naruto. Not bad at all."

"Jiraiya." Naruto nodded in respect. Jiraiya walked up to him mussed up his hair.

"I'm proud of you. We all are." Jiraiya said. "And I know _he_ is too."

Naruto turned to look at the window towards the mountain carvings, eyes lingering on the fourth's face. Naruto still didn't understand what his father saw in the village worth dying for, but decided, that maybe in time, he'd find it somehow.

"I'm glad." Naruto nodded.

"I'm going to take you home. Gaara is getting the place ready with Haku." Jiraiya said.

"You may resume your duties whenever you wish to." Tsunade said, touching her cheek to Naruto's. "Konoha along with other villages are in your debt."

XXX

Naruto left as soon as possible with Jiraiya. He didn't attract much attention due to the cloak Jiraiya threw over his shoulders. The hood did wonders to hide his long and shaggy blonde hair. It didn't take more than ten minutes to reach the apartment that Naruto lived in forever. He was quite surprised to find that the building now sported a new paint job and that the lopsided pipe lines on the edges of the roof were new and much more stable looking. The landlord even repaired the entrance's gates and steps. What Naruto found more amusing was that the stairwell was newly cemented and was no longer uneven with chipped concrete and fading paint.

"Fixed the place up after the fight." Jiraiya mumbled when Naruto had paused by the stairwell to just _look_ at the steps.

"About time. He hasn't repaired the stairs in years." Naruto said, smiling a bit.

"Smiling is easier now, eh?" Jiraiya said, pausing to look at Naruto two steps higher up in the stairs. "Feel better?"

"Yes." Naruto nodded. "I can breathe."

Jiraiya let out a laugh and ruffled the blonde thatch after pushing the hood off. "That's good. That's really, really good."

"Yeah." Naruto said, smiling a bit broader. "It feels good."

Jiraiya nodded and chuckled continuing up the stairs with Naruto behind him. Naruto couldn't stop the bubbling laughter in his chest when Haku pulled him for a long and warm embrace while Gaara simply watched, coat and leather gourd holster gone.

"Welcome home!" Haku said, smiling. "I couldn't come earlier. I had classes to teach! Naruto, you look great!"

Jiraiya couldn't help but grin. "I'll leave you three together. I have some research to do."

Naruto waved and grinned back. "You're not leaving are you?"

"Me?" Jiraiya waved a hand. "Nah." The elder man nodded his head and waved. "Take care of him." Without another word, Jiraiya walked down the hall and out of the apartment complex.

"Come in! You just got out of the hospital and it's winter! Yukata _only?_" Haku started lecturing Naruto in his mother hen tone as he disposed off the cloak Naruto was wearing. The apartment was warmer and Naruto found that either Haku or Gaara got the heater working. It wasn't very cold in his opinion though. Naruto, truth be told, knows how _cold_-_cold_ it can get when the house was empty. In fact, to the blonde, it felt like spring; all around warm.

"I'm not cold Haku. In fact, it's rather warm." Naruto announced.

"Your bath is ready." Gaara said, jerking a thumb at the bathroom. "I got the landlord to fix the heater. Haku painted the apartment."

_Ah. That's why._ "No wonder the walls are brighter. New paint job." Naruto said, smiling at Haku.

"Got new curtains too." Gaara commented, pointing at the light blue drapes mounted on the window. Clean windows, Naruto noted. Nothing much could be said because Naruto also noted that the holes that were present on his couch were gone. There were new throw pillows on the couch that looked way cleaner than the battered up ones before. Also, his apartment now had a floor rug! Everything just looked neat and although it was pretty much the same as it had been years ago, it still looked different; felt different in a good way. Perhaps it was the pot plants in the corner or the newly boarded floor or maybe just the presence of two people he trusted so much.

"It's good to be home." Naruto whispered.

"Good to have _you_ back." Haku stressed, guiding him to the bathroom. "Go take your bath. I received an urgent message in the middle of class by Hokage-sama herself to have the house ready for your arrival. Take your time. But don't stay too long or you'll catch cold. You're still recovering." Haku thrust a cleaner and warmer yukata in to Naruto's arms along with a towel. "Gaara and I will be getting dinner ready."

"Yes. Yes." Naruto nodded and stepped in to the bathroom, closing the door behind him as Haku walked down the hall. Naruto could still hear Haku's soft spoken voice while he asked Gaara what he should prepare for dinner.

XXX

_Naruto, you still don't know what a woman feels! Mou!_

_Oi, dobe! You afraid?_

_Don't fall for such obvious traps, idiot._

_Hokage? That's aiming too high, don't you think?_

_You can open your eyes now Naruto. You graduate! Congratulations!_

_Oho! A perfect name for a perfect technique! Ten out of ten!_

_If you don't hurry, you won't catch up to him._

_Konoha's lotus blooms twice, Naruto-kun!_

_A ninja must eat vegetables! Here, I brought these for you!_

_Grow up to be a good man!_

Naruto blinked his eyes open, staring at the gray tiles of his bathroom. He's remembering faces from the old days before he left. Days that shaped his life and outlook, his hate and goals – faces that made him fight harder and get stronger. Faces that he will forever hold dear and treasure and never forget. Steam wafted up the ceiling, forming moist drops on the walls.

Naruto reached forward and pulled the stopper of the tub free, the slightly foamy and aloe scented water draining in to the hole. The shower knobs were cranked open, releasing a warm spray as Naruto got on his feet and started lathering his hair clean with the shampoo that Haku or Gaara must have bought. It was still full. Three months of being confined to a bed with no shower was enough to make Naruto's skin crawl. Of course, he's been in the wilderness with Jiraiya before during his training, but still. He was currently in a village with facilities available for things like showers or baths. Naturally, Naruto takes his time in feeling _clean_ again, glad that Haku or Gaara actually remembered to keep a new bar of soap because he doubted a half used one would last long. Naruto also had to take care of his growing facial hair. Once he was done with his shower, he was once again happy to note that either of his Hunter teammates must have left that new razor and shaving cream. He took his time in taking care of his facial hair. He'd ask Sakura or maybe Lee to trim his hair. Although most people would immediately reprimand him if he says that Lee was going to trim his hair, Naruto would have to disagree. If there's anyone in the village with talent when handling hair and scissors, then it's Lee. No one – _no one –_ can perfect that ultra bowl hair cut like Lee can. Lee was good with layering hair and getting rid of split ends. It was probably the only reason Neji asks him to trim his hair. Naruto _knows_ because Lee told him.

A good forty minutes later, Naruto emerged from the bathroom in a clean yukata with a towel around his neck, hair dried, combed and face clean. His whisker marks were far more visible than before he shaved. It felt good to be able to feel clean again. Naruto noted to himself _now _that he didn't really like hospitals. It felt as if his body were a dust magnet. He dressed himself in normal civilian clothes before joining his two companions outside.

"Well, you certainly look more alive!" Haku said, grinning. "Sit! Sit! You need your energy back!"

Gaara handed Naruto a bowl of soup as he too sat down. It was just like before when the three of them got together. It felt like a real home and family. The meal passed in comfortable silence. Naruto couldn't eat much due to his stomach being empty for quite sometime. He mourned the fact that he couldn't even eat half of Haku's curry or finish his own bowl of rice.

"What are you going to do now, Haku?" Naruto asked, looking up. "Gaara is going to be –"

"I know." Haku nodded. The fact sunk in that Gaara would be leaving. They wouldn't be the three-man hunter team that most of the other units seem to fear somehow. Gaara wasn't looking up from his plate because he already knew what Haku has to say. "Naruto, I am happy here in Konoha. I will gladly keep you company until maybe the day comes when the both of us will have to go our separate ways." Haku smiled, tilting his head a bit to one side. "I'm still willing to be your Hunter partner."

Naruto smiled a bit. "If you wish to stay with me, then I am eternally grateful."

Gaara smirked and held his bowl towards Haku. "Good. Haku, give me more rice."

Laughter erupted from the table.

It was just like old times.

XXX

Naruto was standing by the window, looking out at Konoha's night life. Haku was in the bathroom taking a shower while Gaara lay sprawled on the couch, a book on his lap. Naruto wasn't really looking at anything in particular. He was more interested in the circular glows of the lights and lanterns changing colors all around the village. He gazed towards the general direction of the stone carvings on the mountain, eyes lingering on the fourth. Fingers automatically moved to come around his neck where the necklace Tsunade gave and his father's ring usually hang only to find nothing.

_That's right. I gave it to him._

Naruto turned and headed towards the door. "I'm going out for a while."

Gaara looked up at him from his book. "You sure?"

Naruto nodded, grinning a bit. "I'll probably be long."

Gaara smirked before standing to pull a coat out of the hall closet. "Understandable. Here." Gaara draped the coat over Naruto's shoulders. "I'll tell Haku."

"I have something I want back." Naruto said, strapping his sandals on.

"I know." Gaara nodded. "Go."

Naruto nodded and left through the front door quietly. The night air was cold against his skin. He pulled the coat tighter around himself before walking off towards the block that lead to Kakashi's house. What should have been a five minute walk stretched to fifteen minutes due to his slow pace. Gradually, his body got used to the cool air as he reached Kakashi's apartment complex. Looking up at the window that he knew belonged to Kakashi, he wasn't surprised to find it dark. Gaara did mention he just returned from an A-rank mission. Quietly, he climbed the stair well and found himself staring at Kakashi's door.

It took three knocks before Kakashi answered the door.

There was stunned silence for a few long minutes.

"You know, it's kinda' cold out here." Naruto said quietly.

Kakashi blinked from his stupor and held the door open to pull Naruto inside. "Why – Why are you walking around out in the cold? You should be resting." Kakashi reprimanded as he shut the door. "I would have come to visit you anyway."

Naruto looked about the small room and the bed. He remembered that passionate night months ago as if it were only yesterday. He turned to look at Kakashi with a neutral expression, eyes staring at the necklace around Kakashi's neck. "You have something of mine."

Kakashi stood there in his loose pants as his hands came to the pendant around his neck. "Yes." He replied, almost quiet as he pulled the necklace off. "Let me." He said, and came a step closer to hang it around Naruto's neck. Naruto's hand came to rest around the ring and pendant, fingers feeling the comfortable contours of the objects that he held very dear to himself. Kakashi stood back to look at Naruto closely. "How do you feel?"

"Better, thank you." Naruto released his hold on the necklace. "I heard from Gaara that you just got back from a mission."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his sheepishly. "Ah yes. Hokage-sama has been working all of us Jounins hard you know?"

Naruto grinned. "She does that, doesn't she?"

Kakashi's look softened. "Yes."

Naruto looked off to one side. "I am able to breathe more freely now." Kakashi understood the meaning. No longer are there Akatsukis on the loose chasing after Naruto and what he carried within him. "I think now, I can move more freely."

Kakashi gave him an unsure expression. "Am I – "

Naruto merely smiled and patted Kakashi's shoulder. "You know where to find me. I'm not going anywhere this time. I've got duty to Konoha."

Kakashi nodded, dropping his gaze. "Gaara and Haku?"

"Gaara is taking up his post as Kazekage. Haku is staying with me. Everything is fine."

Kakashi nodded. Sometimes, he wished that at times like these, that he had his mask on. "And what about me?"

Naruto smiled this time. "What about you Kakashi?" Kakashi looked at him then, and was taken a back by the smile that was directed at him. "Didn't I already tell you that I'm not going anywhere?"

Kakashi understood. "Yes."

"There you go then." Naruto said and gave Kakashi's shoulders a squeeze. "I'll be going home. They'll get worried. Take care of yourself."

"Naruto." Kakashi gripped his hands. "Back then, when you left your necklace with me –"

Naruto quickly pressed his finger to Kakashi's lips. "Don't." He shook his head. "I know. You know. Keep it that way."

Kakashi smiled. "All right."

Naruto nodded. "Get some sleep. You look so exhausted." He gave Kakashi's shoulder an affectionate rub before heading for the door to leave.

"Hey Naruto."

Naruto turned to look over his head. "Yeah?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, if you're feeling better, let's go get some ramen." Kakashi said, and this time, he was smiling widely.

Naruto's smile stretched widely that for once, one can see that he really meant it. "I'd love that."

XXX

Naruto stared at his mail box and at the white envelope that lay within. He reached in and pulled it out to find that it was a rather stiff looking envelope; the type that was given out when there's a formal occasion of some sorts. It was addressed to the people living in his apartment. Curious, he opened the envelope and grinned.

Walking in to the kitchen, he waved it to Gaara who was sipping his warm milk and Haku who was setting down two plates of sandwiches on the table. "Look! We're guests of honor!"

"Where?" Haku asked, coming around to stand behind Naruto to peek over his shoulder. "Oh Sakura-san and Shino-san's wedding!"

Gaara set his cup down to lean against the chair. "Shino mentioned that they wanted you to be present. That's why wedding plans were supposedly put on hold."

Haku smiled at Naruto. "Sakura-san still sees you as her close teammate and friend."

Naruto set the invitation down. There was a reason why he kept his distance from everyone in the beginning. Gaara and Haku knew that very well. It went without speaking really. "So what does one normally wear on weddings?"

XXX

It was a grand event. Most of the people Naruto knew were present in the wedding ceremony. It didn't surprise Naruto to find that Sasuke was also a guest of honor along with the others like Kakashi, Kurenai, Jiraiya and Tsunade. Some were new faces that Naruto didn't really recognize yet, but judging from the way they interacted with the couple, he guessed that they were close. Sasuke was sitting next to him rather stiffly in his formal kimono with the Uchiha crest on the back. They hadn't spoken with each other since Naruto's hospital discharge due to the fact that Sasuke was away most of the time on missions ever since his last two sessions with Haku were completed. It wasn't that Naruto minded, but he sincerely hoped that Sasuke wasn't overworking himself.

"Stop squirming." Naruto whispered. "They're exchanging vows!"

"I know already. Shut up." Sasuke whispered back. "You've been squirming too, you know?"

Naruto smirked. It was like old times again. "Yeah well, these clothes are heavy."

"Tell me about it." Sasuke mumbled, sighing. "Ne, Naruto."

"Hmm?"

"Are you –"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!" Sasuke hissed, frowning. It was quite surprising to find that he hadn't bashed Naruto upside the head yet.

"I know." Naruto said, smiling a bit. "I'm not mad at you. I don't hate you."

"But –"

"I said shush! Vows!" Naruto said, kicking the side of Sasuke's ankle.

"Dobe! I'm just –"

"Don't." Naruto said softly. "Forget it. What happened, happened. It wasn't your fault."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke sounded so guilt ridden.

"I am too." Naruto smiled a bit, and reached out to pat Sasuke's hand. "It's a new life now. This time, walk a path with no regrets whatsoever."

Sasuke smiled a bit as the couple in front of them finished exchanging their vows that sealed their marriage. At the announcement, everyone clapped and cheered the newly weds. "Yeah. This time, there will be no regrets."

Naruto was clapping like the rest, grinning. He turned to look at Sasuke and smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Sasuke."

They both looked at each other before bursting out in peels of laughter. Sasuke looped an arm around Naruto's neck as the both of them grinned at Sakura who waved at them and tossed the flower bouquet she had in Sasuke's direction.

This time, Naruto laughed even harder at the flushed expression Sasuke was radiating.

It was so good to be able to feel so free.

XXX

"I'll see you two later! Kiba challenged me to a round of Go." Haku said, waving as he disappeared down the crowd of celebrating people to join Kiba.

Naruto and Gaara stared after him. "He does know that Kiba is a sucker at Go right?" Naruto asked.

"Who knows." Gaara shrugged, just as Lee came to join them, Kakashi trailing behind him.

"Naruto! Gaara!" Lee greeted. "So good to see the both of you. Isn't it a wonderful celebration? Gai-sensei said that such gatherings enhances the spring of –"

"Lee, come. Let's go for a drink." Gaara said.

Lee grinned and gave a thumbs up sign at Naruto. "I will see you later Naruto. And do tell me if you need another haircut."

"Of course!" Naruto said, waving. Once both his friends had gone, Kakashi stood behind him and threaded his bare fingers through the soft blonde locks.

"He cuts hair?" Kakashi asked, sounding amused at the same time horrified.

"He handles the scissors like it's his fingers. One of the best." Naruto assured Kakashi. His hair was now shorter and spikier, much like before. All the excess growth were sheared off by Lee upon his request.

"Walk with me." Kakashi said, gesturing towards the woodland clearing that was at the far end of the celebration circle.

XXX

The evening air ruffled their formal attire as they walked deeper in to the woods, getting farther and farther from all the music and merry celebration. Kakashi stopped in the small clearing where three worn target dummies were erected from the ground. Naruto was staring at Kakashi's gray kimono and at his sandals. Naruto knew that underneath each sleeve, Kakashi hid weapons. Though it amused Naruto to no end how Kakashi kept shifting and tugging at the waist bands and ties that held the kimono together.

"Not used to them huh?" Naruto smirked.

"This is probably one of the reasons why I chose to remain a bachelor." Kakashi grumbled through the mask as he adjusted the ties one last time and faced Naruto. "And that blue _hakama_ suits you very well." Naruto looked down and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles on his chest, chuckling at Kakashi's words.

Silence passed between the two of them until Kakashi came forward and threaded his fingers through Naruto's hair once again. Kakashi always did that when they were alone. Naruto would lie on his lap while Kakashi read his book while those long pale fingers stroked through the blonde thatch.

"This is why you called me away?" Naruto asked, looking up at the fingers stroking his scalp. "To play with my head?"

"I have something I wish to share with you." Kakashi said and lead Naruto to the far end of the clearing and pointed at mountain carvings. "That evening when Kyuubi attacked the village, I was in the front lines. Fighting." Naruto blinked at the seriousness of Kakashi's tone and decided not to interrupt till Kakashi was done. "Sensei didn't appear for a long time, for reasons we – the ones fighting in the front lines and dying – did not know. When things got desperate and the cover we've been maintaining crumbled , I abandoned my post. I went to look for Hokage-sensei, your father. I couldn't find him anywhere and for a moment, I though he betrayed the village." Naruto stared at Kakashi and was about to retort at that phrase when Kakashi wrapped both his arms around Naruto and held him close. "I found Sandaime and desperate, I demanded and asked. Accused sensei of being a possible traitor. Sandaime told me that sensei left hours ago, with the only technique that can stop the rampaging demon."

Naruto was staring wide eyed at the sleeve of Kakashi's kimono. "T-Then?"

"Just minutes later, I saw the technique that took the life of my teacher and rival and Sandaime was gone from my side. I was young then, pushed around due to my age despite being second in command of my unit. I only found out that sensei, Yondaime-Hokage, died in the middle of battle and that there were no traces of the fox. I found out later that he sacrificed himself. I didn't understand though."

Naruto closed his eyes. "I don't either."

"But now I do." Kakashi said. Naruto did a slight double take and stepped back to look at Kakashi's face. "Sandaime told me, after sensei was buried that sensei carried the burden of being the village's leader first above everything else. It kept coming back to me, that single phrase, and then when I saw you after you came back and found out about your lineage, I understood. Sensei, your father, wanted to give the village a chance in life; give _you_ a chance in life. He wanted you to live and carry out the duties that he couldn't finish. As a hero. A leader." Kakashi pulled his mask down. "And above all, as a real person. Not just a tool." Naruto was stunned to silence. "I can only imagine how one's mind work as both a parent and as a leader, but what you did for the village Naruto, was what your father would have done. When the village was stripped off of all hope, you gave it courage. And that is probably one of the greatest gifts you've given Konoha." Kakashi pressed his forehead to Naruto's. "Your father once gave that to Konoha. That courage. Years ago before he died. It waned with time but you brought it back. Believe me because I can see the people. You can see them too. You just have to –"

Naruto pressed his finger to Kakashi's lips, closing his moist eyes. "I know. I was afraid. A coward. But I can see. I can feel. And to know that everyone now has a chance for a better life, then I'm happy. I cannot ask for more."

Kakashi pulled Naruto's hand down from his lips and pulled the younger man close. "I'm here. For you and for as long as you'll need me. I nearly lost one of my most precious people and I'm not going to do that again." Naruto looked up to stare at Kakashi's mismatched eyes and saw the love neither of them could put to words. The simple term 'I love you' was probably not enough to express how they felt for each other. Naruto could only smile up at the elder man and stand close by his side as the celebration music rang on through out the entire village.

_I understand now, Father._ Naruto clutched the ring in his palm while his other remained wrapped around Kakashi's waist. _You saw **life**_

**FIN **

**When I say LIFE, I meant LIFE as HUMANS not as simple shinobi tools**.

This fic has finally been concluded. I kinda ruined it somewhere in the middle but I feel that this is probably as far as my fried brain can go. I know it's shorter than normal and I know I must have said more than one lemon somewhere but I wondered, after writing this chapter, just _where_ can I chuck the lemon in. If I did, then I think I would have made the story cheap.

As for both the very simple and quiet exchange of words between Naruto and Kakashi, well shinobis aren't really people of words. And Kakashi's speech is probably an equal equivalent to that of a sappy love confession shinobi style (ie – my personal favorite) angst loaded!

So yeah. NO, there will be no Haku/Sasuke. No, there is no Naru/Gaa or vice versa. And NO, Gaa/Haku just won't work out. These three hunters share deep friendship and brotherhood. No sex implied.

Sasuke needs a female to breed his clan. I've decided that. And no, no mpregs. I'd love to read about them but I can never pull them off.

And uh, yeah that concludes my rant.

Now, for the final farewells (ahem)

I thank you all for reading this far and for bugging me to write it (believe me, if I didn't get all those emails, my plot bunny from hell Ichigo (aka) my conscience wouldn't have left me alone!). And so I've finally found a proper way to end this story, despite feeling that I've ruined it. I want to thank all my reviewers for reviewing and reading my hunkajunk that comes from my brain – mwacks! Love you love you! I probably can't thank you enough and you've probably lost interest in this fic already, but thank you so much! Really, you guys makes the shi-chan the HAPPY!

Last but no least, boy do I feel GREAT to have this off my back. I can't list all my inspirations that pushed me to write this final chapter simply because I can't remember what they were in the first place. But I'd just like to say that _life_ really is important and sometimes we really do have to sacrifice what we have to give chance to others. I suppose morals plays a role in this fic, and I'm sure everyone out there must have faced the decisions of giving or keeping one way or the other.

I wish you all a good day and best of luck in your future or whatever it is your doing!

Now, who's up for cupcakes? (holds out a big tray and GRINS)


End file.
